Way Back Into Love
by irisfairy81
Summary: My version of the back half of season two! Mostly Finchel, with some Quick!
1. A Very Glee Christmas

A/N: This is a Finchel/Quick story. I wanted to write a short fic based on spoilers for the Superbowl and Valentine's episodes and it kind of got out of hand! The first few chapters are mostly Finchel and then it picks up Quick after the Valentine's "episode." I'm trying to write it like it's the rest of the season. So I've planned 22 episodes, each episode should be 3 to 4 chapters long. You can tell from the chapter title which "episode" you are on.

**I do not own Glee.**

This was the worst Christmas ever. They had just moved, so his mom had barely decorated and he still felt like he was staying over in someone else's house. He'd had a lot of fun things planned for this winter break, but Rachel had destroyed all of that. If he was honest, he knew he'd played a pretty big role in screwing everything up, but he didn't know how to fix it. Somehow, Finn had found himself at this silly Glee party for Mr. Shue on Christmas eve, when he'd really rather be anywhere else. It just sucked.

Rachel glanced out the window. The snow was really starting to come down now. She was trying to decide if she had stayed long enough at the party to be able to leave. It was hard to be decorating a tree so Mr. Schue wouldn't be lonely, when she was so lonely too. It was almost unbearable to be pretending to be happy with all of these people who didn't like her. But mainly, it was pure torture to be in the same room as him. They were supposed to be celebrating this holiday together, and instead she was spending it, trying to make him see how sorry she was and how much she loved him, without pushing him into running away from her. After the disaster of trying to sing him a song for a gift and that horrible Christmas tree shopping trip, she was doing better about not bothering him. Luckily, school was out for vacation, so she actually hadn't seen or talked to him before tonight. She'd felt so stupid when he caught her looking at him at the tree. She had just smiled quickly and looked away. She'd been avoiding him all night, and she was tired and her head ached from all of the acting. She couldn't keep a happy face any longer.

Finn knew he wasn't supposed to care, but he felt really bad for Rachel. He could tell she was having a bad night. She was trying to avoid him and Puck and Santana, which resulted in her hiding in the kitchen a lot and rearranging cookies. He wanted to tell her she didn't have to avoid him. He wanted to tell her a lot of things actually, but he just couldn't figure out how. Everything was such a mess. He'd thought about it a lot over the last week. He was mad, mad that they couldn't work it out before she went to Puck, mad that they had gotten so far away from each other, mad that he can't touch her and hold her and make them both feel better. He was mad at her, he was mad at Puck. But it'd slowly been creeping in on him, that the person he was the maddest at was himself. He thought if they could just talk it out, really talk it out without Ms. Pillsbury, then they could fix it. The last week without her had been horrible, and he was ready to forgive her.

Except she hadn't asked him since the stupid tree lot and he didn't know how to get from where they were to where he wanted to be. And she was probably still mad about Santana. There was so much anger on both sides. Watching her at the party had made his heart ache. He hated seeing her shy and skittish. He hated how no one was talking to her. He just wanted to tell her he loved her. He saw her leave, and he thought, now, now I'll tell her and we'll fix it and everything will be fine. He followed her into the front living room and she must have forgotten something, because she turned around and ran right into him. And suddenly, he couldn't breathe. He could feel her, she was so close, and he could smell her shampoo and she was perfect and she was just...she jumped away from him like she'd been burned.

"I'm so sorry, Finn. I was just getting ready to leave." She said it in a rush, like maybe he was going to yell at her just for being in his space. And he didn't know how to start or what to say.

"Yeah, I was just leaving too. My mom wants me home when Kurt gets back. Merry Christmas, Rach." He waited a minute, hoping she'd walk out with him. But the awkward silence stretched out longer and longer and she turned to go back into the party, mumbling something about saying good bye to Mr. Schuester. He nodded and walked past her to the door and then he stopped. "Did you ever get a snow scraper for your car?" She shook her head no. "My dad keeps saying he'll bring one home, but he hasn't yet." He nodded and waved again, and left.

The whole time he was cleaning off her car, he was waiting for her to come out. He was really annoyed that no one seemed to care about Rachel, how could her dads not buy her a snow brush? How could everyone just not talk to her? How could no one else see how special she is? He was mad and he was freezing and he really did have to get home, so he left her the snow brush, a crappy present, he knew, but it was something. He kicked himself the whole way home for blowing his chance. He'd been doing that a lot since the whole mess started. He didn't know how something so good ended up so bad.

She texted him "thank you" and he had a million things he wanted to say in response, but it was late and his family really did need him, so he just texted back "no prob" and hoped she knew he meant "no problem, because I love you."

*Glee*

A whole week had passed since Christmas. Rachel and Finn hadn't spoken or texted since Christmas Eve. He spent the whole week willing his phone to ring. He'd have taken anything at that point, a text, a call, a "like" on his Facebook status. But nothing. It was like she'd forgotten he existed. And he knew that was unfair. He had basically told her to leave him alone, but he really didn't think she'd listen. He'd been kind of talking to Kurt about everything, but Kurt wasn't exactly the person you asked for advice if you wanted to feel better about yourself. He felt like crap. Kurt said he should be on his knees, begging Rachel to come back. Kurt said he should have stood up for Rachel and not let Santana walk all over her. Kurt said he was a huge jerk and Rachel deserved better than him. Kurt actually said a lot of stuff he didn't want to hear and Finn tuned him out after awhile. Every time he thought he'd gotten a handle on things, he got all screwed up again.

Rachel scrolled down her Facebook page, discouraged by the party that all the other Glee kids were attending that she wasn't invited to. It was at Santana's, so she wasn't really surprised she wasn't invited. She just wished they wouldn't talk about it where she could see it. She was shutting off her computer when she heard her phone buzz. It was a text from Kurt. They were a little closer since Sectionals, but he was pretty busy with Dalton stuff, so they weren't really friends or anything. She was surprised to see a text from him, and even more surprised when he asked what her New Year's plans were. She replied that Santana was having a party for everyone, and she'd probably be hanging out with her dad's. She almost dropped her phone when she read the next text. "Come hang out with us? Mercedes and Blaine are coming over for a movie marathon."

She didn't know what to do. What if he was there? What if he wasn't there? He'll probably be at the party, she reasoned, and she really didn't want to spend another New Year's with her dads, so she told Kurt she'd be there and then spent the next four hours panicking about making the wrong decision. She pulled up to Kurt's new house around 7 pm. She hadn't been there before and she felt really weird about going to Finn's new house without him knowing. She let out a little sigh of relief when she realized his car wasn't in the driveway. As much as she wanted to see him, she really wanted a drama free evening. And it was. She had a lot of fun laughing with Kurt, Blaine, and Mercedes. They chose bad movies on purpose, so they could all laugh at them. She was laughing so hard her sides hurt, she really hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Finn had decided to go to Santana's party. Maybe being around other people would make him feel better, being home with Kurt certainly hadn't. When Kurt told him he invited Rachel over, because he felt bad for her being alone, Finn almost decided to stay home. But then he remembered he was mad at her, so he didn't. He was halfway to the party before he remembered he didn't want to be mad at her anymore. Still, the only person who can get under his skin worse than Kurt is Rachel, and the two of them together is more than he wants to think about. He can't spend a whole night with Kurt criticizing his every move and Rachel looking at him like he just kicked her puppy.

The party sucked. He didn't want to talk to Puck. He really didn't want to talk to Santana. He joked around with some of the football guys and had a decent conversation with Mike before Tina pulled him away to dance. He mostly just sat by himself, and drank the same cup of beer he'd had since he arrived. He just wasn't in the mood for any of it. He thought Santana was wrong, sleeping with her didn't make him any cooler. It just made him miserable. He decided to go home. Maybe he could sneak upstairs and spend his New Year's alone.

Kurt wouldn't have it though. He wasn't even all the way up the stairs before he heard Kurt following him. He sighed loudly and shut his door, but Kurt came in anyway and made him come down stairs. It wasn't very hard, he promised Rachel was in a good mood, and Finn really wanted to see her. So he went back down.

Rachel jumped up, "I should be going now." she stammered.

"Don't leave on my account." Finn said softly, "You guys were having fun." He sat down on the opposite side of the room, as far away from her as he could get. He didn't trust himself. He might touch her, he might not be able to keep himself from kissing her. Or he could start his New Year having another senseless argument with her. He didn't want to press his luck. He laughed along as Kurt and Blaine continued entertaining them by mocking the movie. It was pretty funny and he liked seeing Rachel smile. They switched to Ryan Seacrest to watch the ball drop at midnight. When they all started talking about going to Times Square someday to ring in the New Year, he could picture the apartment he and Rachel had talked about sharing in New York and thought it would be awesome to have all their friends come hang out with them there. He tried not to think about how it would probably not happen now.

"Rachel will have to let us all crash in her apartment." He said out loud. And she smiled, a little, like she was glad he remembered.

And then they were all counting down and screaming "Happy New Year!"

When it was time for everyone to leave, he saw Kurt getting ready to walk the girls out. He really needed to be alone with Rachel, even if it was just a second. He offered to take them out, so Kurt could be alone with Blaine. The fact that Kurt blushed bright red at his suggestion was just a bonus. Served him right for being so mean all week. Finn threaded his arm through Mercedes' and headed outside. Rachel followed behind them, feeling like a third wheel. She had parked on the street, so she hugged Mercedes at her car and then turned to go across the lawn. He shouted at her to wait for him and teased her a little about promising Kurt he'd take care of her. He pushed his hands in his pockets, he just wanted to grab her and hold her. He wanted to kiss her senseless. He knew he couldn't. But she looked so pretty under the street lights and it was a new year, and he really did want to find a way to move on. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He whispered "Happy New Year." He had to turn away, because he was having trouble keeping it together.

That night he made his New Year's resolutions. He was going to be a leader. He was going to be the kind of guy that's good enough for Rachel. He was done letting people bully her. And he was going to fix them. But first, he was going to get his best friend back. Because even if he and Rachel couldn't be a couple, he needed her in his life.


	2. The Big Game part 1

A/N: Sorry if I get the football details wrong. I know as much about football as the actual Glee writers. /sarcasm, lol!

**I do not own Glee.**

Finn could not believe he was getting ready for football practice right now. It was the first day back from winter break, he was tired and cranky. Rachel had spent the whole day avoiding him. And Glee was canceled because the football players and Cheerios had emergency practices. Usually he'd be in basketball season by now, but McKinley High football had actually had an awesome season and they were playing a school from Columbus for the football championships. Coach Sylvester had insisted that the Cheerios be allowed to install some kind of retractable, spring-y floor for their half time routine before the game. Since she had been the principal and the Columbus school didn't have their own field, she had managed to delay their game all the way to the second week of January. He was not looking forward to playing football in this weather.

Coach Beiste came in to the locker room and he was surprised to see she had Mr. Schue with her.

"Alright, boys, listen up. It's been brought to my attention that some of you have been bullying your peers, particularly, the members of the Glee Club. Now I don't know how things have been in the past, but the men who play for the Beiste, don't bully." Coach glared at everyone. Man, she was scary. "So here's how it's going to go down. Schuester here needs some guys for the halftime show. And those guys are going to be you." She doesn't mention that she and Schuester are determined to have a better halftime performance than the Cheerios, as she points fiercely towards Karofsky and friends. The locker room filled with groans and complaints.

"I don't want to hear it! Are you football players or whiny babies? Glee Club practice is tomorrow at 3. Anyone who doesn't show up, will not be playing the Championship game. Now get out there. Last one on the field does 20 laps. GO!"

*Glee*

He hadn't heard from Rachel since New Years. That was only 4 days, but still. He was tired of only catching glimpses of her as she ran away from him. They had lockers right by each other and she was never there. They had first period and Spanish together and she came in right before the bell and ran out as soon as it rang. He really hoped he could talk to her in Glee today. Except when he walked into the classroom it was complete chaos. Sam was yelling at Mr. Schue and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. There were only two football players in the classroom, aside from the regular glee club members. Crap. This was not going to be good. He sat down in the nearest chair, trying to figure out how they were going to win a Championship game with 7 players.

"Just sit down, Sam!" Mr. Schue finally shouted. "We'll figure all of that out later. I have to talk to Coach Beiste." Sam stomped over and sat beside Quinn, glaring at Finn. "You should be the one figuring all this out, Captain." he said angrily. Finn just slouched further down in his seat. Sam was right, but he didn't see how yelling at Mr. Schue would solve the problem.

"Ok, guys, we were going to practice our mash up for the halftime show, but it looks like that plan is on hold for now. So instead, I'm going to draw names out of this hat and you're going to work on a ballad for Regionals together." Mr. Schue reached into that hat and announced, "Rachel...and...Puck." Finn couldn't even think after that. He just stood up and walked out. He heard footsteps behind him and hoped that it might be Rachel. But it wasn't.

"Hey, man!" Sam shouted. "Wait up, I'm your partner for the ballad thing...but we need to go find Coach and see if she'll change her mind about letting the guys play."

Finn sighed. The last thing he cared about right now was a stupid game. But he followed Sam anyway. The day couldn't get any worse.

*Glee*

There are a lot of things that no one knows about Noah Puckerman. His bad ass act is to keep people away. No one relies on him and he relies on no one. And he likes it that way. He likes being called Noah though, it reminds him there's a real person underneath his act. He likes country music. He hates seeing girls cry. And he's a sucker for Rachel Berry's eyes. No, really. The first time he slushied her was because she looked him straight in the eye and he could just tell she knew he'd thrown Kurt in the dumpster that morning and he'd just cheated on his math test. He was turning around to go apologize to Kurt when he remembered he was PUCK and he never apologizes! He threw the slushie so she'd quit looking inside his head. Since then, he was pretty sure he'd do anything if she stared at him long enough. And it's not like he likes her, because he doesn't! She's annoying and loud and crazy and bossy, and he can remember all of that as long as she's not looking at him.

So when Mr. Schuester announced that he had to work on a song with her, he knew he had to act first. Otherwise, she'd have him tap dancing to show tunes in sequins before he could blink. He walked over and sat beside her. He risked a glance her way, but she was still staring forlornly out the door. He still didn't know why she had told Finn about their kiss. They were barely into it before they both knew it felt wrong. He took a deep breath.

"I have a plan. I'm going to send you a link on Facebook later. You sing, I'll play. Be ready tomorrow." And then he walked away before she could complain.


	3. The Big Game part 2

**I do not own Glee.**

Rachel smoothed her skirt as she waited impatiently for Glee to begin. She was having a bad day and she could not wait to go home. She hadn't thought Glee could be any lower on the totem pole, but then the school had decided Glee Club was responsible for ruining their chances for a state football championship. It had been a full day of taunting and jeers, and now Puck was determined to ruin her life even further. She had no idea why he thought singing this song was a good idea. She could have thought of a hundred different songs, ones that would surely be better suited for their situation. But she figured just the fact that she was up there with Puck was bad enough. She might as well just sing it and move on.

Finn and Sam slipped in just before Mr. Schue called the practice to order. She couldn't figure out where she stood with Finn. He'd asked her to leave him alone, and she had. It'd been really really hard not to text him after that New Year's kiss, but she just didn't know what any of it meant. He'd kissed her cheek and he hadn't texted her either, so maybe he'd meant good bye? She'd been analyzing things for 5 days now and she wasn't any clearer to knowing where she stood. What she did know was that she missed him desperately. And she understood the longing in this song Puck had chosen for her. This song that was sure to cause her nothing but trouble. Then Mercedes poked her in the arm because Mr. Schue and Puck were waiting for her to join them upfront for the song.

Puck slid on his guitar and looked up, straight into Rachel's eyes. "Damn, look away!" he thought. And then he realized that she really didn't understand that he was trying to help her. "Don't look at me, Rachel." He hissed. "Look at him!" And he turned her to face Finn. He started playing before she could argue anymore.

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor_

_Reachin' for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind_

_For me it happens all the time_

Rachel looked straight into Finn's eyes as she sang. She hadn't realized that Puck had meant for her to sing this to Finn. Now that she knew, she realized this song was perfect, and since she hadn't picked it, she decided it wouldn't count as bothering Finn. Or at the very least, he'd be less mad if she sang it to him, than if she sang it to Puck. She poured every single ounce of longing she had for him into the song.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

Finn had been dreading this moment all day. He thought a duet between Puck and Rachel would be the perfect topping to a craptastic day. He'd almost skipped Glee, but he and Sam had convinced Coach Beiste to let the football team play, if they showed up to one Glee practice before game day. He couldn't expect them to come if he wouldn't. He'd seen Puck turn Rachel to face his direction and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach got worse. This was going to be bad. But he can't resist her voice, it wraps around his brain and makes him feel like he's coming home. He's pretty sure she could sing the alphabet and make him cry if that was her goal.

_Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door_

_Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind_

_For me it happens all the time _

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

Finn knows exactly what she's talking about. He knows exactly how many times he's had his phone in his hand texting her before he remembers he can't. He can't even count the number of times he's almost called her but stopped or reached out for her when she wasn't there. He gets lost in the sound of her voice, in the pain in her eyes. He wants to get up and touch her. But he just can't. She's so close, but she's so far.

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin' at all_

_It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now_

_And I said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without _

_I just need you now_

She finishes the song and she's almost in tears. Finn wants to go to her and tell her they'll make it all ok. But she runs out of the room. He starts to follow her when he hears Santana's mouth from the back of the room. She's saying something about Rachel and how sick she is of her crying about her crappy life. It doesn't matter, he doesn't need to hear the exact words. He just knows it's enough.

"Santana, you just need to shut up." Wow, that felt good. "You've done enough. You're always kicking people when they are down and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of all of you. We're supposed to be a team. We need to stick together instead of knocking each other down. Rachel is off limits. You can not pick on her anymore. And if you can't deal with that, then you don't need to come to Glee." He makes sure they can all see how serious he is, before he walks out the door, he needs to find her. But she's already gone, and he's too angry now to have a conversation, so he goes home to kill things on his Xbox and crash.

*Glee*

Rachel reaches for her phone as soon as her alarm goes off in the morning. She needs to make sure she wasn't hallucinating last night. But no, there it is, a text from Finn at 1:15 in the morning. _"i miss u"_. She smiles to herself. It's going to be a good day.

Except it isn't. She gets slushied almost as soon as she gets to school. She's late for first period, and her teacher makes her come in on her lunch for detention, because it's the fifth time she's been late for first period this year. She thinks she'd probably be in less trouble if she explained about the slushies, but she's tired of being _that _girl and she doesn't want to be on their radar anymore than she already is. She doesn't get to see Finn until their fifth period Spanish class. He sits near her, but it's a test day and she can't do much more than stare at the back of his head for the whole class. He walks out with her though and they don't say anything until they are almost to her locker.

"So, I meant it last night. I really miss you. And I know we need to figure a lot of stuff out. But we can be friends again, right?" He looks down at her hopefully, and her smile is really all the answer he needs.

*Glee*

It's the last Glee meeting before the big game. They've worked out their halftime mash up. No more football players have shown up for practice, they don't really think Coach Beiste will lose the game just because of the stupid Glee Club. Finn really hopes they are right, because as Sam has told him for the nine millionth time this week, they HAVE to have eleven players to even compete. And Sam needs this game if he's going to become quarterback and keep Quinn. Finn doesn't understand this train of thought, because being quarterback clearly didn't help him to hold on to Quinn. But whatever, he has his own girl issues to deal with and he could really care less about Sam's drama. He's sure that Coach will figure out some way for the team to qualify. She's not going to lose her job over Glee, right?

He's been trying to catch Rachel's eye all of practice. They have been talking in their classes and sitting with the Glee Club together at lunch. But they've been avoiding all the topics that got them to this point and he really wants to walk her out to her car and maybe get her to go out to dinner with him. It's the last day he doesn't have practice for the game. He doesn't get his wish though, because Lauren Zizes says Rachel has to stay for a top secret meeting after Glee and he's not invited.

Lauren looks at Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel. She knows what she's about to say is crazy, but if it works, they'll be the heroes of the school.

"Ok, girls, Glee Club is taking the blame for the football team losing the big game. But if it all goes down the way I see it, Glee Club is going to save the day. I have a plan..."

A/N: Song is "I Need You Know" by Lady Antebellum


	4. The Big Game part 3

A/N: Everything I know about football, I learned from Wikipedia, so forgive me if I butcher it!

**I do not own Glee.**

Finn tightened his shoelaces and looked around the mostly empty locker room. He didn't know why they were wasting every one's time like this. Coach Beiste told them she had a secret plan, but he didn't know how they were going to use it, they would be disqualified as soon as the other team realized they only had seven players. Everyone else was already at the door waiting for him, waiting for him to be their leader, to rev them up, to tell them it was going to work out. But he didn't know anymore than they did. All he knew was he had to lead practice the last three days because Coach was working on her secret weapon.

"Well, let's go." he mumbled and waved, half hearted, towards the field. Sam glared at him, but he just wanted to get this over with. They marched outside. It was freezing. The crowd was huge. Either they hadn't gotten the message that there was no team, or they were all out there to laugh them off the field. Things were going to end badly. They were huddled by the benches, when Beiste came out with four people in football gear trailing her. For a minute, he was hopeful, maybe she'd let some of the other guys play, but no. Oh no, no, no. This was not happening.

"What the hell, Coach..." Puck blurted out. "They can't..."

"What're you trying to say, Puckerman, girls can't play?" Beiste growled at him. No one else said anything. Beiste practically had smoke coming out of her ears. "I said people can only play this game if they went to Glee practice. And_ they_ went to Glee practice." She smiled a little and dared them to argue.

Finn looked at the new players and closed his eyes. Lauren, Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel were all still standing there when he reopened them. This was just not going to work. Rachel was going to get killed. He tossed the football to Sam, if Sam was quarterback, Finn could just focus on keeping Rachel from getting crushed.

"No way, man. I'm not taking responsibility for this disaster!" Sam threw the ball back at him, hard.

"Come on, guys!" Lauren said. "We've been practicing all week. We can do this!" Finn wished he shared her optimism.

"Fine." He couldn't even believe he was going to do this. "Get out on the field." He grabbed Puck by his face mask. "Do not let Rachel get hit." He snarled. Puck nodded and they headed out to the field. It was going to be a bloodbath. The other team somehow managed to beat every team they came across, and they didn't even have a real field to practice on. He looked at Mercedes and Tina. "Are you sure you guys have this?" They both nodded. He didn't even want to acknowledge Rachel right now. She'd spent the last three days texting him about Spanish homework, but she'd neglected to mention this?

He could hear the laughter of the other team before they even made it into formation.

"Are you serious? Four girls and a cripple?" The whole team snickered. "I could win this game with one hand tied behind my back!" Puck opened his mouth to respond, but Finn shook his head. "Let's just get this over with." He wished Beiste had at least let them have one practice together. He didn't know if he could throw the ball to Tina or if Lauren knew she was supposed to block him. Sam snapped him the ball and he braced himself to get hit. He tossed the ball to Mike, but Mike fumbled. He was too busy, watching to see if Tina was getting tackled.

It didn't get any better by half time. The other team was up by 14 points. The only good part of it all was that they were afraid to hit girls, so they weren't playing very aggressively. They walked off the field to get ready for the halftime show. Luckily, Mr. Schue was having them all perform in uniform. Finn grabbed Rachel's arm as they were waiting for the Cheerios to finish their insane performance of California Girls. Were they really shooting Becky out of a canon? He shook his head, he needed to think fast.

"Listen, you should have told me about this!" He whispered fiercely. "You don't belong out there! What if you get hurt?" Rachel glared at him.

"You're not in charge of me, Finn. I needed to do this. Think of how much people will appreciate us, if we save the game. Maybe I can be respected for myself. Maybe it'd be nice to for people to respect me for being something other than Finn Hudson's girl friend or ex girlfriend or whatever it is that we're playing at being right now." Mr. Schue whistled at them. "We can't do this right now, we have to go on." Her eyes were gleaming, her chest was heaving, he was really having trouble not just grabbing her and kissing her and showing her exactly what he wanted them to be, but she was storming out to the field before he could even finish his thoughts.

Mr. Schue had decided to mash up Thriller and Heads Will Roll for the half time show. It would have looked a lot cooler with the whole football team, but they did a good job. There was certainly enough anger and passion beneath the surface. They were back in the game too quickly though. Beiste had yelled at them pretty hard before they got back on the field and Puck was able to make a touchdown with Mercedes' help. That was the signal for the other team to start playing for real though, and they all got pounded after that. They lost the game 28 to 7. The locker room was a quiet place, except for the banging of the lockers and helmets and pads hitting the floor. Finn knew that after today, no one would remember that they were almost State Champions, well, no one would remember anything but the almost part. He dreaded school on Monday. He took his time putting his gear up. He didn't want to run into anyone on the way to his truck. Especially Rachel.

He didn't have any luck though, he walked out to the hall in the middle of a screaming match. Coach Sylvester, Mr. Schue, Sam, and Quinn were all standing in the hall.

"You can not be serious, Quinn! I never pegged you for a loser. A quitter!" Coach Sylvester spat at Quinn. Quinn just looked at her. She looked so sad, Finn was really familiar with this look and he hated it, even when he hated her. His feet moved toward her all on their own.

"I saw what those girls did today, Coach. They went all out and they did what they had too. And you sabotaged them at every turn!" Quinn looked at Mr. Schue. "Did you know that she paid the footballers not to go to Glee practice? She promised them she'd get Beiste fired and they'd still be able to play the game."

"What?" Mr. Schue shouted at Sue. Sue just shrugged. "Eh, sometimes my plans backfire."

"I'm done. I don't want to be involved with you anymore. I'm quitting the Cheerios for good." Quinn said firmly.

"What are you talking about, Quinn!" Sam yelled. "What about all our plans, what about Prom king and queen? Doesn't this mean anything to you?" He grabbed Quinn's hand roughly, to show her the ring. Finn had seen enough.

"Back off her, man. She's had a bad enough time this year, without any help from you. I know her better than you, she wouldn't quit anything without really good reasons." Sam dropped Quinn's arm and got right up in Finn's face.

"Really, you think you know her better than me? She cheated on you, you cheated on her...sounds like a match made in heaven. You want her back, she's all yours." Sam slammed his hand into the lockers and stormed down the hall. Coach Sylvester just rolled her eyes and followed him.

"Are you ok?" he asked Quinn. She hugged herself tightly and looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I've needed to do that for a long time. I should never have gone back. I've changed too much to be happy there." She smiled at him and moved closer. "Thanks for standing up for me. Sometimes, I think no one really sees me anymore." She kissed him on the lips. Then pulled back and smiled sadly. "I've lost so much. I wish I'd learned what I really wanted before I lost you. Just another thing I can never get back. Good night, Finn."

*Glee*

Will Schuester walked into Glee Club on Monday with a pounding headache. It didn't get any better when he realized the room was completely silent and no one was sitting by anyone else.

"Did I forget and assign you guys a test or something? What's the deal." The room descended into chaos with everyone pointing at everyone else. Seems like they had all taken sides over the football game and the following drama and in the process had managed to make everyone mad at everyone.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted. God, what had ever made him think he wanted to work with hormonal teenagers. He wondered if that accountant job was still available, before shaking his head. "I don't get it you guys. The other day, when Finn was defending Rachel, he said you were all a team, a family. What's happened to that?"

Rachel stared at Finn in surprise, she didn't know he'd stood up for her to the whole club.

"You guys have got to find a middle ground. You have to become a team again. Otherwise the only thing we're going to be doing at Regionals is congratulating Kurt on his win. Let's go to the auditorium. I have something for you to sing."

*Glee*

Rachel stood at the far side of the stage.

_I can't go any further then this_

_I want you so badly, it's my biggest wish_

The spotlight picks up Finn on the opposite side, he walks toward her as he sings.

_I spent my time just thinkin thinkin thinkin bout you_

_Every single day yes, I'm really missin' missin' you_

_And all those things we use to use to use to do_

_Hey girl, wuz up, it use to be just me and you_

_I spent my time just thinkin thinkin thinkin bout you_

All the guys join in from the back of the stage.

_Every single day, yes I'm really missin missin you_

_And all those things we use to use to use to do_

_Hey girl wuz up, wuz up, wuz up, wuz up_

And then everyone is singing.

_Meet me halfway, right at the borderline_

_That's where I'm gonna wait, for you_

_I'll be lookin out, night n'day_

_Took my heart to the limit, and this is where I'll stay_

_I can't go any further then this_

_I want you so bad it's my only wish_

Finn knows he has to make things right with Rachel. He steps closer to her and looks right in her eyes, hoping she knows he means every word. He has to step up and help the club become a team again. He smiles at Quinn, who's standing beside Puck. They all miss the way they used to be. And they want to get it back. At the end of the song, they are standing in one group at the middle of the stage, and they are all cheering and clapping, even Sam. Because somehow, everything is going to be ok.


	5. Valentine's Day part 1

A/N: Thank you for reviewing/alerting! : ) This chapter is the Valentine's Episode, it will probably be two chapters. I haven't read any legit song spoilers for this ep, so aside from the episode title (Silly Little Love Songs) and the kissing booth, this chapter is pure spec.

**I do not own Glee.**

*2 weeks later*

Will Schuester strode down the hall with a scowl on his face, he wanted to rip every stupid red heart and lacy decoration off the wall. His glee club might be on it's way to mending, but his personal life was still a wreck. Valentine's Day this year was nothing but a reminder of how badly he had failed on every level. And now he had to give his already fragile club the bad news that they weren't going to Regionals unless they came up with $2,000 for transportation. Sue Sylvester had taken great pleasure in informing him that she had reserved the buses to take the Cheerios to a seminar on oral hygiene at Carl Howell's office on the same day as Regionals. He felt like everyone was lining up to kick him when he was down.

He pushed open the Glee door and took a deep breath.

"Alright, guys, quiet down. We need a fund raiser and since it's too cold for a car wash, it's time for another bake sale!" He smiled brightly, ignoring the chorus of groans from his students. "Now, we can hold it at lunch on Friday..."

"Mr. Schue!" Quinn interrupted. "I think I have a better idea!"

"Great. You're in charge of the fundraiser. Now, we still need our ballad for Regionals and as much as it pains me to say it, Valentines day is almost here, so we're doing love songs this week!" He was cautiously optimistic when no one objected, and since he couldn't keep up with who was with who anymore, he decided to make it easy on them. "You can work with whoever you want. No more than three of you in a group though, and everyone must perform by Friday. And that's all I've got for today. See you guys Wednesday."

Everyone started talking at once, trying to get into groups. Quinn didn't care about the assignment right then though, she needed help. She pulled Mercedes and Rachel aside.

"I need some help with the fundraiser plans." She said excitedly. "Every year the Cheerios do a huge Valentine's Day fundraiser..."

"Yeah, I know." Mercedes broke in, sourly. "That's the one where they sell those stupid carnations every year and all the Cheerios get a ton and I always get one from Kurt."

"Um, right." Quinn said, quickly. "Well, everyone buys into that mushy love stuff, but I think we could sell something better than flowers." She pauses for dramatic effect, feeling very Rachel Berry for a second. "Kisses!"

Mercedes and Rachel both looked really confused. "Uh uh, no way I am selling my kisses!" Mercedes shouted.

"Shh! No, not us!" Quinn laughed. "Them!" and she pointed to Finn, Puck, and Sam, who were all studiously trying to look at anything but each other, so they wouldn't have to sing a love song with another dude.

"I don't get it." Rachel said. She was not on board with Finn kissing anyone else, even if she didn't really have a say anymore.

"It's easy. We just need to decorate a table and advertise it. Think how much those girls will pay to get a kiss from a football player! And it'll just be a kiss on the cheek. No big deal right?"

Rachel sighed dejectedly. She wasn't so sure if a kiss on the cheek really meant nothing, but she didn't have any hold on Finn right now, or room to talk about kisses..."I guess it could work" She said slowly. "But why do you need us?"

"To decorate the booth of course!"

*Glee*

Finn was cautiously optimistic about Valentine's Day approaching. He and Rachel were doing really well with this friends thing. They walked to classes together and texted each other all the time. Of course, they never talked about anything important and they were never alone together, but that was coming. He could just tell. Right now, it was just nice to be able to text her when he wanted to talk to her. He hadn't realized how much he'd come to rely on her opinion the last year. They were being really careful with each other though. It was scary how much power she had to hurt him, and he didn't want to move to fast, because he was still reeling from that whole Puck thing.

He had thought today's Glee assignment would be perfect for them to get closer. They could sing a sappy love song and she'd remember how great it felt to be in love with him and he'd tell her he forgave her and everything would be perfect. He didn't like that pesky voice in the back of his head that reminded him there were things he needed to apologize for too. He was just gonna ignore that for now. And it didn't really matter anyway, because apparently she was singing something with Quinn, which was just really weird. He hadn't been able to talk to her after school, but he might text her later.

He opened his front door and saw his mom on the couch, crying.

"What's wrong, mom!" he said in a panic. But she just shook her head and laughed at him.

"Sorry, Finn, it's just this silly movie. Always makes me cry." Finn turned to look at the t.v. He remembered watching this movie with Rachel. And then he got an idea!

Later that night, he texted her. "can u meet me in the auditorium after school tomorrow?" She replied right away. "yes"

He started printing out music, he had to get this just right!

*Glee*

The next day, he didn't see Rachel at all during school. She spent all of her free time whispering with Quinn and Mercedes. She spent their whole lunch cutting out paper hearts and they skipped Glee altogether, completely missing Artie and Brittany's duet of "Silly Love Songs." He really hoped she hadn't forgotten about their "date".

He walked through the auditorium doors and she was sitting on the stage. He took a minute to just stare at her. She was so beautiful with the lights shining on her hair, she was made for the stage.

"Hey!" she says when she spots him. "What's up?"

"Well, Mr. Schue said we had to work in groups of no more than three, but he never said you couldn't work on two songs. So I was hoping you'd help me with my song."

"Um, I'm not doing a song with anyone yet." she laughed. "I'd love to help you." If she wasn't singing a song with Quinn, what the heck were they doing? But he didn't want to think about that now, because it was time to put his plan in action. He handed her some sheet music. Her eyes got wide, but she didn't throw it back at him, so he took that as a good sign. He had downloaded the karaoke version on his iPod. He could have asked for the band to back him up, but he was really hoping they could talk after this and he didn't want an audience for that. The music came on and he nodded for her to start.

_I've been living with a shadow overhead_  
_I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed_  
_I've been lonely for so long_  
_Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on_

He moved closer to her and started the next verse.

_I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away_

_Just in case I ever need em again someday_  
_I've been setting aside time_  
_To clear a little space in the corners of my mind_

_All I want to do is find a way back into love_  
_I can't make it through without a way back into love_  
_Oh oh oh_

They were sitting side by side now, singing together.

_I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine_  
_I've been searching but I just don't see the signs_  
_I know that it's out there_  
_There's got to be something for my soul somewhere_

_I've been looking for someone to shed some light_  
_Not somebody just to get me through the night_

_I could use some direction_  
_And I'm open to your suggestions_

_All I want to do is find a way back into love_  
_I can't make it through without a way back into love_  
_And if I open my heart again_  
_I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end_  
_oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

_There are moments when I don't know if it's real_  
_Or if anybody feels the way I feel_  
_I need inspiration_  
_Not just another negotiation_

And then he was just singing alone, and he look straight into her eyes, she had to know he meant this.

_All I want to do is find a way back into love_  
_I can't make it through without a way back into love_  
_And if I open my heart to you_  
_I'm hoping you'll show me what to do_  
_And if you help me to start again_  
_You know that I'll be there for you in the end_  
_oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

The music stopped and he set his sheet music down. He gently put his hand on her cheek. Her skin felt so smooth and she smelled so good. God, he'd missed her. He kissed her, gently at first and then harder. He tried to pour every ounce of regret and I'm sorry and I miss you that he felt into the kiss. He pulled back and was about to kiss her again when he realized she was crying. He wiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb.

"Oh, Finn. What are we doing?" she whispered. "I can't...I can't do this back and forth. It hurts to much. We hurt each other too much."

He sighed, but instead of pulling away, he dropped his hand to her waist and pulled her closer.

"Do you still love me, Rach?" He knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it.

"You know I do." she whispered softly.

"Then we can get past it. I know we can." He kissed the top of her head. She felt so perfect in his arms, it was going to be hard to stay on track. But there were things he needed to tell her. "When...when I slept with Santana, it didn't mean anything." She started to speak but he kept talking. "No, I mean it really didn't mean anything. I felt like crap. I felt dirty. It wasn't special. It wasn't anything. Because it wasn't you. I regret everyday that I did it. And I hate that I didn't tell you. "

He looked over at her. She wasn't crying and she hadn't pulled away yet. That must be a good sign.

"Finn, I...I guess I was so mad about the whole thing, that I couldn't explain to you how I feel. I'm a nobody...no don't try to tell me otherwise. I'm not the quarterback, I'm not a cheerleader. I know who I am, but it's hard to cling to that everyday when no one else respects it. And for a little while, I had a taste of what it was like to be someone else. I didn't get slushied as often, I didn't get picked on as much, because I was Finn Hudson's girlfriend. And I was so damn proud of it, I wore it on my neck. And I believed you when you said you'd never break up with me. When you said you loved me for who I was, because at least one person saw me as something more than your accessory." He cringed, he'd never realized she'd thought of herself like that. He'd never seen her as that. She continued. "And then, when I found out the whole thing was based on a lie. That they were all laughing at me. I felt like I was drowning. And you, you didn't say any of the things I needed to hear. You just left me there. And Noah, he threw me a lifeline. For just a minute, I felt like someone wanted me for me. And then it just felt wrong, but it was too late."

"I didn't know, Rach." he said quietly. And he didn't know what to do now either. Because he couldn't change their minds. He couldn't make the whole school appreciate her talent. "I respect you. I love you. You're amazing and talented. I've never felt good enough for you. I didn't tell you, because I didn't want you to leave me. Because I know I'll never be able to find someone as special as you."

He leaned in to kiss her again, and she responded softly and then pulled away.

"Where do we go from here?" he whispered roughly.

"I don't know." She sounded so sad. "I just...I just need to think about it, ok?"

"Ok. I love you, Rach."

"I love you too." she said as she walked away from him. Then she stopped for a second. "Quinn's going to ask you for a favor tomorrow. Just do it, ok?"

He nodded. Then he lay down on the stage and stared into the lights, trying to figure out if his plan had worked or backfired.

A/N: The song in the last chapter was "Meet Me Halfway" by the Black Eyed Peas. "Silly Love Songs" is by Paul McCartney, it's not a duet, but it's a cute song. Finn and Rachel sing "Way Back Into Love" from the movie Music and Lyrics. I think that was from the "fake" song list that went around, but it's the perfect song.


	6. Valentine's Day part 2

**I do not own Glee.**

He didn't know how he ended up sitting here. Well, actually he did...he was going to start wearing sunglasses anytime he might be near Rachel Berry. She'd cornered him and said she needed him to help her and Quinn, and when he looked at her closely to make sure she really just said she was working on something with Quinn, she looked him straight in the eye and before he knew it, he was sitting behind this crazy booth. It was pink. Puck hated pink. And covered in hearts. Hearts are not very bad ass. But the table beside him was full of Rachel's cookies, and those were almost as addictive as her eyes, and girls were paying for a chance to get a kiss from him, so he guessed it wasn't all that bad.

Quinn had talked to him, Sam, and Finn that morning and explained her plan. There were 2000 kids at McKinley and they needed to get one dollar from every single person to meet their goal, or multiple dollars from the same people. The boys were going to man the kissing booth. One kiss for one dollar. And only kissing on the cheek. He thought Quinn looked pretty cute when she was trying to be stern with them. One football player would watch the booth each day, and the girls would hold a bake sale too, so they could raise more money. Puck had drawn the short straw and had to go first. Sam had been sure that he would get the most money on his day, and after some heated bickering between Finn and Sam, Puck had said he'd get the most money just to shut them up. He was pretty sure that the fifty dollar bill Santana had shoved in the box, she'd collect her kisses later, she'd said with a wink, would ensure his lead. But chicks really liked Finn for some reason, so he wasn't playing it safe. His sex shark rep was on the line!

It was hard to focus on the freshman girls, giggling and shoving dollars into the box and then shyly shoving their friends up to get kisses, when Quinn was manning the cookie table beside him. He hated it when she didn't wear her Cheerios uniform. It was hard to remember she was cold hearted and mean, when she looked so damn soft and touchable. He sighed, as he leaned over to give another silly girl a kiss on the cheek, the things he'd do for Glee Club.

At the end of the hour, he and Quinn had managed to raise $650. He'd managed to convice a couple other guys to help out with the kisses, and Quinn's table of baked goods was gone. He was helping her clean up her empty containers when he realized he hadn't seen her other half the whole day.

"So, where's Ken at today?" he asked with a smirk. The smirk was so she wouldn't know he was really curious.

"Sam, you mean?" She looked at him with a frown. "I wouldn't know. We're not together right now." Her face was like marble, but Puck could see the sadness in her eyes. They'd broken up over the summer. She didn't want to talk about Beth and they fought all the time. All she wanted was her old life back. She'd finally told him they wouldn't be starting the new school year as a couple and she wouldn't return his calls anymore. He shoved the last bits of paper in the trash and handed her the money jar, he didn't even take a cut for himself. She smiled at him. Wow, he'd do anything if she'd smile at him like that more often. He patted her shoulder.

"You deserve a better guy than him anyway." He wished he could be that guy.

*Glee*

Rachel was exhausted. She had stayed up all night making cookies for the bake sale. The good news was, Quinn sold them all. The bad news was, she was going to have to spend another night baking cookies. She slumped down in her chair in Glee class and hoped Mr. Schue was happy with the sacrifice she was making. She doodled on her notebook while Mr. Schue was droning on about love songs. Usually, she would be very interested in this conversation, but she wasn't in the mood for love songs today. She'd spent the whole time she was baking last night going over what had happened with Finn in the auditorium. She sneaked a glance at him now. He was in the row in front of her, to the left. If she wanted, she could reach out and touch him. He was scribbling in his notebook too, but she couldn't see what it said. If she was sitting beside him she could see, she thought. But she just didn't know if she was ready.

When she first lost Finn, all she wanted was to get him back. And if she was honest, all she wanted right now was to get him back. But losing Finn hurt, a lot, and she didn't know if she could go through that again. The thing is, she's not dumb, she knows the social heirarchy of high school. He was a quarterback and that meant he should be dating a hot, blonde cheerleader. And she really thought it was only a matter of time before he realized he could do a lot better than her. Maybe it was better if he was just her friend. Suddenly, Finn stretched his arm out and a crumpled piece of paper landed in her lap. She peeled it open.

_You look tired, babe. You want some help with those cookies tonight? _She smiled at the "babe". She should keep her distance. But her heart won over her head everytime. She'd let him come over after Glee. She wrote _You can help, if you promise not to eat all the cookies_! in precise, loopy handwriting and dropped it back in his lap. She was really anxious for Glee to be over, but today Puck was singing his song.

Puck stood at the front of the classroom and shuffled nervously back and forth. He didn't give any introduction for his song, because he didn't know what to say. He looked at Quinn before he starting strumming his guitar. Maybe she'd know.

_I can't remember the last time that we kissed goodbye _

_All our "I love you's" were just not enough to survive _

_Something your eyes never told me _

_But it's only now too plain to see _

_Brilliant disguise when you hold me _

_And I'm free _

_I've been thinking and here's what I've come to conclude _

_Sometimes the distance is more than two people can use _

_But how could I have known girl _

_It was time and not space you would need _

_Darling tonight I could hold you and you would know _

_But would you believe_

He looked longly at Quinn, but she was looking firmly at the ground.

_There's a light in your eyes that I used to see_

_There's a place in your heart where I used to be _

_Was I wrong to assume that you were waiting for me _

_There's a light in your eyes _

_Did you leave that light burning for me _

_Cards and phone calls and photograph pictures of you _

_Constant reminder of all the things you get used to _

_Is there a chance in hell or heaven _

_That there's still something here to build on _

_Or do you just pick up the pieces after they fall _

_But after all _

_There's a light in your eyes that I used to see _

_And a song in the words that you spoke to me _

_Was I wrong to believe in your melody _

_There's a light in your eyes _

_Did you leave that light burning for me _

_Should I keep on waiting or does love keep on fading away _

_Fading away_

He looked at her again, still hopeful. She was still looking down and she might have been crying. Damn, she was definitely crying.

_It's been a while since I've seen you so how have you been_

_Did you get my letter I wrote you, but I did not send _

_I tried to call your old number _

_But the voice that I heard on the phone _

_I recognized but she told me the number was wrong _

_There's a light in my eyes but it's too bright to see _

_And a pain in my heart where you used to be _

_Guess I was wrong to assume that you were waiting here for me _

_There's a light in your eyes _

_Did you leave that light burning for me _

Everyone left. It was just him and Quinn standing in the room. He was waiting for her to come to him. He didn't know what he wanted to happen, but he knew it wasn't this. She stood right in front of him, all traces of her tears wiped away. She jabbed him in the chest, hard.

"You do not get to do this to me. Everytime I think I have it together, you walk into my life and screw it all up and I am not falling for it again. I'm going to fix things up with Sam and I'm going to be happy. And you're not going to mess it up this time." She glared at him and hoped he believed everything she said, because she really wanted to believe it was true. She stormed out of the room.

He stood there alone for a long time, wondering if he was ever going to be able to fix everything he'd messed up.

A/N: The song is Light in Your Eyes by Blessid Union of Souls


	7. Valentine's Day part 3

A/N: I got all the way to the end of this chapter before it occurred to me to check what day Valentine's Day was on this year. For the purposes of this story, it's on a Saturday.

**I do not own Glee.**

Finn stared intently at the bowl he was stirring. He didn't know how Rachel knew what she was doing. He'd never be able to combine all these little jars and eggs and stuff to make anything that tasted good. And her cookies tasted amazing. He was glad she'd let him help her out. They were making a double batch for Mercedes and Sam to sell tomorrow, so hopefully they wouldn't have to make very many for their turn on Friday. He was humming the song that Puck sang at Glee that day.

"You think that song is right, Rach." He sang a few lyrics. "_I've been thinking and here's what I've come to conclude, Sometimes the distance is more than two people can use. _What if we don't really need time. What if we just need to get back together and see if it works?" He looked her way hopefully.

She counted out 4 cups of flour before looking at him. It was nearly impossible to resist him when he looked at her like that. "I don't know, Finn. I've been thinking and thinking and I still don't know what to do. I mean, I know you think you love me and you want me back. But I just can't get past the what ifs. What if you realize you do want to be with a cheerleader again. What if you want Quinn back, what if..."

"Quinn kissed me." He broke in softly. Her measuring spoons clattered to the table. "A couple of weeks ago, after the football game. I stood up for her when she quit the Cheerios. And she thanked me, and she kissed me. And she said she wished she'd never lost me." He was looking at Rachel intently. "And I'm still here, Rach. I could have had her. But I'm choosing you. What is it going to take for you to realize that?"

"I can't shut my brain off, Finn. It just goes a million miles a minute and I can only think of every worst case scenario that's going to leave me crying and alone. And even if we do make it, it won't be easy. I just need time." She wiped up the spilled sugar from the teaspoons and didn't look at him.

"Fine. I can give you til Friday. I think you think too much." He laid his hand over hers, to stop her from scrubbing the top of the counter off. "Let's make some cookies." He grinned at her and they fell back into an easy conversation about songs they should do at Regionals and which musical Finn should see next.

*Glee*

Finn got to school early on Thursday. He had a plan. He opened his locker and took down some of his guitar stickers and the couples calendar Rachel had made for him, it was out of date anyway. He had sticky putty and photos in his backpack and fifteen minutes to redecorate his locker. He wanted Rachel to know he was proud to be with her and proud of her. He hung up a photo from last years sectionals, where she was onstage alone, and a photo of the two of them Tina had taken in the few perfect seconds between walking off the stage at Regionals and everyone rushing to the hospital with Quinn. He had a photo strip of the two of them kissing in the photobooth at the mall. And, he took a deep breath and looked around, he had a yellow star that said "Finn + Rachel." He stood back and admired his handiwork. You could see the star from halfway down the hall. But most importantly, you could see it from Rachel's locker. He saw her coming down the hall.

"Hey, Rach! Can I walk you to first period?" He shouted it, so she'd have to walk to his locker to reply. She stopped in front of him and he turned, pretending to get a notebook, so she could see his locker door. He peeked at her face as she studied the pictures. Her huge smile when she got to the star was worth every bit of harassment he was going to get from Puck.

"Sure!" she said and she didn't pull away when he slid his hand through hers. Mission accomplished, he thought.

*Glee*

Sam was tired of being second best. Second string quarterback, second male lead for Glee, second place for Quinn's heart, this Second Best Sam crap was getting old, really fast. He wanted to be quarterback, Prom King, big man on campus. And who could blame him. No one went into high school thinking, wow, I want to be a loser. He'd spent the whole summer between leaving boarding school and starting McKinley planning the way things would go. He'd practiced his lines (Google was a great reference for pick up lines), he'd learned where to buy his clothes, and he'd worked out and then he'd worked out some more. And when he realized that for a gang of losers, a lot of the really cool people hung out in Glee, well, he'd joined that too. And it had all been too easy apparently. He'd joined the football team and starting dating the head cheerleader, he figured his rise to number one would be complete before spring break, and after that senior year would be a piece of cake. But he was getting blocked at every turn.

Well, he was going to make more money than Puck and Finn combined at this fund raiser. And he was going to be so awesome, Quinn would be begging him to take her back. Well, it'd be cool if things happened like that. But he had a killer plan for the fundraiser. He arranged the jars for money on his booth and ignored Quinn's angry looks as she helped Mercedes set out the cookies. People were already lining up, girls and guys, because he'd managed to get Brittany and Santana and some of their Cheerio friends to help him pass out kisses. And since Puck hadn't been shaking the A/V Club down for money lately, Jacob Ben Israel and friends had a ton of cash to blow. Plus, he was raising the price. If a kiss from Puck was worth a dollar, then a kiss from him should be worth two. Santana and Brittany were charging five for theirs.

He was pretty happy to hand Quinn a jar with $1000 in it at the end of lunch. He was even happier when she rewarded him with a pretty decent kiss. He wouldn't have been so happy if he'd known she only did it because Puck was watching her.

*Glee*

Friday morning, Finn walked into school feeling like a million bucks. Yesterday with Rachel had gone exceptionally well. She'd eaten lunch with him and let him walk her to her car. She hadn't needed help with cookies though, so she didn't let him hang out after school, but that was ok. He was wearing her down. And he had a plan for today. It was the last day of school before Valentine's Day. The Cheerios fund raiser started today and he yesterday he had bought enough carnations that she would get one delivered to her in every class today. He remembered her looking at everyone getting them last year and hinting strongly that he should get her one, but he'd had his head too far up his ass to take the hint. This year, he took the time to write "I love you" painstakingly on every card. He was glad they had first period together, so he could see her smile when she got the first one. And she hugged him before she took off for second period. His plan was so awesome.

At lunch it was his turn to run the kissing booth and Rachel was going to run the cookie table. Brittany came back to help him though, and some of the other football players, including a depressed Puck, so he spent most of his booth time teasing Rachel. He was glad he didn't have to kiss anyone else. But what he really wanted was to kiss Rachel. He was tired of waiting for her. They just needed to be a couple already. It was almost time to shut down, when he got his helpers to leave.

"Hey, Rachel, I need you to watch the booth." She looked up confused, just a minute ago he'd had five people helping him.

"But I...I don't..." She stammered.

"It's fine, Rach. I'll be right back." He put on his helpless face, it always worked with her.

"Fine, but you better get back here before Ben Israel notices I'm up here."

"I promise." He grinned. Rachel stepped behind the booth. He stepped in front, but didn't go anywhere.

"Finn, hurry up, I thought you were going..."she stopped talking when he opened his wallet and pulled out five dollars and dropped them in the jar. Her eyes got wide and she started to smile. She'd totally been had.

"Don't think about it anymore, Rachel. Just do it." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, right in front of the whole school. He didn't stop until the catcalls and whistles of their classmates got to loud and Rachel pulled away. "Please, Rachel?"

"Yes, yes, ok, yes." she laughed. But then she got serious. "But be careful with me, ok, Finn." He nodded and kissed her again. Yeah, his plan was awesome.

*Glee*

Mr. Schuester was shocked when Quinn handed him an envelope with $2300 in it at Glee practice. He was even more shocked when she told him how they got it. He really needed to pay more attention to what these kids were doing.

"Alright, guys, good job. We've got a way to get to Regionals. Now what are we going to sing?"

A/N: I can not get the image of Sam practicing Pokemon pick up lines out of my head! : )


	8. Saturday part 1

**I do not own Glee.**

Will Schuester groaned in frustration and raked his hands through his hair. He was so tired of Sue Sylvester's insane vendetta against the Glee Club. Somehow, she had found out about the kid's kissing fundraiser last week, and decided to use it to keep them from going to Regionals. She was always looking for something to use against him and his life would be so much easier if the kids would stop handing her ammunition. He glared at Sue as she ranted to Principal Figgins. He had tuned her out after he realized where this was heading, but phrases like "legalized prostitution" and "permanent expulsion" kept slipping through. He'd learned it was better to wait her out and then try to talk sense into Figgins at the end, but when she started talking about firing him for running a harem, he knew he should intervene.

"Enough, Sue! They wouldn't have even needed a fundraiser, if you hadn't stolen our buses! I'm fine with some form of punishment, like lunch detention..."

"Lunch detention? William, that's like giving probation to a serial killer. How I miss the good old days of corporal punishment!" Sue bellowed, getting ready for another long winded rant. Will looked desperately at Figgins, hoping he would stop this already.

"Alright, alright, calm down, Sue. No one was hurt and we've had no parental complaints. I think Saturday School will be sufficient punishment." Figgins declared. Will said thank you and rushed out of the office before Sue could rail on the injustices she had to face daily. He had a group of juvenile delinquents to sentence.

*Glee*

Finn cringed as Rachel turned the volume on his stereo all the way up. It was totally unfair that he had to be at school at 7 am on a Saturday, and this was all her fault. He never would have agreed to Quinn's plan if Rachel hadn't told him too. He'd had to get up extra early to drive her, because her dad's had grounded her from her car for a week for getting in trouble at school. And now he was listening to some ridiculous song on repeat, he really wished he was still in bed.

"Rach, why are we listening to this again. Can we please play something else?" Rachel pouted and lowered the volume, but didn't change the song.

"Finn, it's "Don't You Forget About Me". Just like in The Breakfast Club! Isn't it exciting? It's just like a movie!" He didn't understand how she was so cheerful. Didn't she realize it was a Saturday?

"Um, yeah, thrilling." He grumbled. She'd tried to make him watch that movie last night and he'd fallen asleep.

"It's perfect, Finn! You're the jock, Puck's the criminal, Quinn's the princess, I'm obviously the crazy one, and I guess, Sam can be the brain. Maybe Coach Sylvester will be our teacher today! Do you think we'll have to write an essay?"

"I really hope not. Puck says the old library lady is in charge and she'll sleep most of the day and so will I." He ignored her pouting face, he did not want to get involved in whatever she was plotting in her head...like reenacting '80s movies. "How did Mercedes get out of this, anyway?"

"She talked Mr. Schue out of it because she only sold cookies. So it's just the people who were in charge of it, I guess." She frowned. "So I guess I shouldn't really be here...it's just like the movie!" She smiled happily. He was glad she was so cute, because she'd be unbearable otherwise. He was also glad they were finally at the school, because he was really sick of this song.

*Glee*

Puck was no stranger to Saturday School. He probably spent every Saturday his Freshman year in this exact same spot. The furthest table back, just out of the librarian's eye sight, and he always sat on the right side, so he could lean against the bookshelf while he slept. And he seriously hoped he was going to be able to sleep, because a Saturday locked in a room with Rachel, Finn, Quinn, and Sam was torturous. It was like somebody had finally devised a way to punish him for every bad thing he'd ever done. He didn't want to spend the day watching Finn and Rachel make googley eyes at each other. And he really didn't want to spend the day watching Sam drool all over Quinn. He refused to believe Quinn reciprocated Sam's feelings. And of course, Quinn looked beautiful this morning. He really wished she'd hurry up and rejoin the Cheerios. He couldn't see her hair down like that without remembering what it felt like to run his hands through it. He leaned back and closed his eyes. It didn't matter if he slept or not, he could not watch them anymore.

The librarian came in and explained how their day would go. Much to Rachel's disappointment, they would not be writing essays. She made them all sit at their own tables, and told them they couldn't use their phones, listen to music, or talk. But they could work on their school work. Then she settled herself behind her desk, and just as Puck had predicted, she was snoring within 5 minutes.

Quinn was so mad that she was here. She had much better things to do with her Saturday, like, well, ok, so since she quit the Cheerios, she really didn't have any friends or any plans or anything to do at all. In fact, if she was at home, she'd probably sleep in and then spend the day constantly refreshing her Facebook page and making up excuses for why she couldn't hang out with Sam. She'd really been hoping that leaving the Cheerios would make Sam lose interest in her. But the day after his blow up, he'd apologized to her and she'd been so freaked out by her moment with Finn that she'd told him not to worry. Things weren't back to normal, but what was ever normal about her life anyway. She opened her bag and pulled out her History book. At least she'd get her essay done.

Finn stretched his arms. And then he stretched out his legs. And he scooted his chair out. And then back in. And then he tapped on the table. And rearranged his notebooks. And then stretched again. A little ball of paper smacked him in the head. He unrolled it. "Sit still!" It said in Rachel's familiar handwriting. Only it wasn't as neat as usual. He slid his chair around and flinched at the noise it made when it smacked her table.

"You're shaking my table!" She hissed. He wondered if the charm of being in school on a Saturday was finally wearing off. "Do you think we can talk yet? In the movie, they had..." He groaned and tuned her out. It was going to be a long day.

A/N: Clearly, I'm being influenced by the Breakfast Club for this one! Although, like Finn, I tried to watch it and fell asleep. Also, Finn's cranky when he has to get up early. He'll be in a better mood later, lol!


	9. Saturday part 2

**I do not own Glee.**

Time was ticking by so slowly. Finn had moved from tapping his fingers to clicking his pen to finally falling asleep on his desk. In fact, all the boys were asleep and Quinn's pen was moving across her paper so slowly, she would probably be snoring in just a minute too. Rachel was seriously annoyed. They hadn't even been here an hour! Didn't they realize the great strides that could be made in their personal development? Why was no one else excited to be here? She sighed. Maybe she'd just write her own essay. Except, that would be no fun, she was Rachel Berry, exceptionally talented singer and performer, destined for Broadway and three Tony awards, minimum, she didn't need to find out who she was. And also, in the movie, no one wrote their essay anyway. She re stacked her textbooks. Of course, she'd had all of her homework completed before Finn came over last night.

She was still kind of in shock that things were working out between them. Last weekend, they had gone to Breadsticks for their Valentine's date and he had been a perfect gentleman, opening the door for her, bringing her flowers, paying attention to her conversation at dinner and telling her she looked beautiful. He'd dropped her off before curfew and kissed her sweetly and told how much he'd missed her and she'd practically floated to bed that night. School was good too, he'd walked her to classes and sat with her at lunch and at Glee. It felt different than before though. It had only been a week, of course, and she'd gotten grounded from her car and going out on week nights for a month, so they hadn't been alone together much. When they were, she felt like he was holding back. He kissed her sweetly and held her hand, but before, he was always touching her. He'd put his arm around her at lunch, he'd put his hand on her knee in Glee, it was like she was magnet and the minute they were alone, he couldn't be distracted from her lips or her body. She was frowning now. Last night, her dad's had allowed them to watch the movie in her room, with the door open. Before, that meant a movie would play, and they would make out until they heard one of her dad's coming up the stairs. Last night, though, she had watched the whole movie, and although he had snuggled with her, he had fallen asleep halfway through. Combined with the terse way he had acted in the car, she was starting to worry. Maybe he was having second thoughts?

A loud buzz went off, and the librarian jumped up from her desk. Finn knocked his books off the table and Puck's chair dropped to the floor with a slam. Everyone looked a little dazed.

"It's time for a bathroom break! Be back here in 5 minutes." The librarian said and then fiddled with her clock. She was actually timing them. She didn't follow them out into the hall though, so Rachel hurried after Finn and grabbed his hand. She just needed to do a little experiment.

Finn smiled when Rachel took his hand, but then his smile quickly turned into confusion, when she pulled him towards an empty classroom instead of following the others to the bathrooms.

"What are you doing, Rach?" He asked curiously, as she pushed him towards an empty chair. She stood in front of him and started to kiss him and he completely forgot why he cared. He slid he hands around her waist and started to pull her closer. Wow, he loved Saturday school. Oh, crap. "Rachel, wait, we're at school." She pouted at him, he so wanted to kiss her again. But the last thing he needed was to get in more trouble. "Come on, we've got to go back." He stood up and pulled her back down the hall.

She followed after him, not sure if she'd answered her question or not. Why did it feel like he was always holding himself back? They were the last two people to come back in the room, and she blushed at Puck's leering grin and hurried back to her seat.

The librarian reset her timer for noon and repeated her no talking rule. Then she opened a book and was back asleep in ten minutes.

*Glee*

Quinn stared at her history book. It was kind of fitting to be studying history in a room that pretty much held every member of her past dating history. She was annoyed at Finn and Rachel for sneaking off. It was easy to tell by their flushed faces what they had been doing. She thinks she'd probably melt if anyone ever looked at her the way Rachel looked at Finn. And if Finn had ever looked at her the way he looked at Rachel, last year might have turned out a whole lot differently.

Honestly, she feels really bad about the way she acted last year. She still feels a little sick when she thinks how far she might have let that lie go, if Rachel hadn't intervened. She had just been so scared. She'd been so, so scared. And she hadn't really thought about what was going to happen in the future. She still can't believe she'd thought she could hide her pregnancy from her parents. She wishes she could go back and change everything. She never would have had sex with Puck. It wasn't worth it. She regrets it every single day. She wishes she'd put more effort into her relationship with Finn. He was nice and sweet and everything she thinks she needs. Everything Sam is, she thinks. But trying to replace Finn isn't working out so well for her. She's always wanting something. Something darker or more dangerous, something less controlled and more passionate. She pushes those thoughts back though. Especially, when the hazy idea of something, starts to turn into someone.

Her family has always had rules. They are mostly unattainable, be perfect, don't be negative, don't break the mold, and perhaps, an unspoken one, don't feel. Because nothing was ever discussed at her house. Everything was easy and smooth, and anything bad was hidden away. So Finn and Sam, are perfect for who she is supposed to be. Calm, easy to deal with, nice guys. Nice. Just like her, because she was supposed to be a nice girl too. And she didn't know how she and Puck ended up in bed together. There were excuses, she was having a bad day, her boyfriend wasn't paying enough attention to her, but really, she just wanted to feel something. Kissing Finn was nice, but he always seemed over eager to her, like a big puppy. Kissing Sam was nice, but technical and practiced. And Puck, well, she didn't even need to kiss him. Looking at Puck was like holding a lightning bolt.

Last year was awful, she felt like crap the whole time, she hated being mean to Finn, she hated missing everything from the Cheerios, she hated the stares and whispers. She hated staying in the guest room at Puck's messy, chaotic house. But she thinks if there was anything she gained at all last year, it was the ability to feel. She felt scared, she felt miserable, she felt lonely, and for just a minute she felt loved. She moved home after, well, after that happened. She told Puck she needed her life back. She needed to be a Cheerio. She needed that armor back. She needed things to be normal. Or she wouldn't be able to handle it. She couldn't be with him. She had thought she'd get Finn back, but she hadn't needed to try, since Sam had volunteered to take his place. She unconsciously twisted Sam's ring on her finger, it was just one more defense, one more thing to hold her together, to keep the pain in.

She tried not to think about everything that happened. She ignored Puck as much as she could. She didn't talk about it, didn't think about it. But lately, it was getting harder and harder to ignore. Her life at home was a mess. She still felt like an outcast from the Cheerios. She cried herself to sleep. A lot. And more and more often, she fell asleep to the memory of strong arms holding her, fingers trailing through hair he never let her wear up, the echoes of whispers of how beautiful and strong and special she was floating in the air.

The loud buzzer snapped her out of her thoughts. It was lunch time.

*Glee*

They weren't allowed to eat in the library, so the librarian marched them all down to eat their packed lunches at a table in the cafeteria. At first they ate quietly, but then Rachel started rambling about how much their experience was just like a movie. Quinn loved The Breakfast Club, and even though she would normally make fun of it, just because it was Rachel, she hadn't talked to anyone apart from Sam all week and she missed real conversation.

Finn watched Rachel talking to Quinn. It was really weird to see them laughing together. He kept waiting for the minute when Quinn would say something mean and he'd have to comfort Rachel, but it didn't happen. But Quinn was actually being nice. He wasn't sure he'd ever encountered a nice version of Quinn. Or maybe all of his bad memories of her had overshadowed the good. This whole day had felt like the twilight zone. He couldn't figure out what had gotten into Rachel earlier. She was still sitting really close to him. She kept touching him, his arm, his hand, his leg. It was getting hard to focus on his food. He pulled away from her a little and tried to ignore the hurt look that flashed across her face. He turned to talk to Sam and Puck, hoping she'd think that was why and not be mad. But that was a dumb decision, because he wasn't friendly with Sam or Puck at the moment. So he started a conversation about the Browns and counted down the minutes until the longest lunch ever ended.

A/N: Sorry this chapter didn't have a lot of action. This "episode" is kind of setting up the storylines for the rest of the "season". The next chapter should be better!


	10. Saturday part 3

**I do not own Glee.**

They filed back into the library and settled back into their seats. This was the part of the day Puck had been looking forward too.

"Now you children have been so good today. I'm just going to make a phone call, and I'll be right back." The librarian smiled at them all and wandered out of the room. Puck, however, knew that what she was really going to do was go down to the teacher's lounge and watch soap operas until it was time to come send them home. He told everyone else she wouldn't be back and then slipped on his earbuds to tune them out.

Finn didn't know what had gotten into Rachel, but she was driving him crazy. She had moved to his table, to help with his spanish homework, she said, but she was making it impossible to concentrate. First, she sat really close and he knew it wasnt her fault that just her shampoo made it hard to concentrate. He slid away a little.

Then she grabbed his hand and the way she was stroking his finger, well, he could easily imagine her stroking something else, and he had to pull his hand away. But when he looked at her, his gaze met with tear filled eyes. He really didn't understand her sometimes.

"Rachel, can you help me find a book on, uh...Mexico?" He said, loudly. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the furthest corner of the library. He sat on the floor and patted the space beside him, so she'd sit too. "Whats going on, babe?" He asked curiously. He was a little shocked when she burst into tears. He pulled her into his lap and rubbed her back, until she calmed down.

"It's just...I know we've only been back together a week, but I just thought things would go right back to the way they were. And they haven't. You keep pulling away from me and you fell asleep instead of kissing me last night and I keep thinking that now that you have me back, you'll realize you don't want me at all."

Finn sighed. He didn't even know where to begin. "Rachel, you asked me to be careful with you. I thought you meant take things slow, and not pressure you for more. I want you, Rachel. I chose to be with you. When we broke up, I regretted every second I spent without you. But here's the thing, I can't control what other people think of you and more importantly, I can't change the way you think about yourself. You have to believe I love you." He looked at her intently, he didn't understand how she couldn't believe him.

"I know you love me, I do, I'm just so afraid. I'm afraid I'm not good enough or pretty enough or popular enough. I don't want to get hurt again. I don't want to lose you again." Rachel was perilously close to tears again. She buried her face in Finn's shoulder. She hated admitting this stuff. Finn kissed the top of her head and held her closer. He just needed to make her see how special she was.

"Rach, what were you going to write in your essay?"

"What essay?"

"The one you were hoping they'd make us write, from the movie? The one about who you are."

"Oh." Rachel frowned. "Well, in the movie, they only write one essay. We were all supposed to have an emotional discussion and realize we're all the same. But I know who I am Finn, I'm Rachel Barbra Berry, future Tony award winner and Broadway star."

"No, not who will you be. Who are you _now_?"

"You know who I am Finn, I'm nobody. I'm a Glee club loser. I'm a good singer. I'm under appreciated. I'm loud and annoying and selfish and mean. I'm awful, Finn." She gave him a water-y smile. "Sometimes, I'm Finn Hudson's girlfriend."

"That's the problem, Rachel. You're almost none of those things. You're brave. You stood up for Kurt, when I couldn't. You sing your heart out in front a group of people who don't always appreciate you. You admit when you're wrong and you try to make things right. You're smart. I couldn't pass Spanish without you. You care about other people. You helped Kurt prepare for his solo, a solo to compete against you. You joined the football team, so the Glee club wouldn't be losers. You're determined. You know where you want to go and how you'll get there. You're more than your voice. A lot more. I love your talent, but if you could never sing again, I'd still love you."

She smiled at him for real this time. "Thank you, Finn. I love you too." She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled her closer and kissed back, suddenly all too aware that she was sitting in his lap. And wiggling. And MAILMAN! He pushed her back a little.

"Rachel, there's something else I need to explain to you..."

*Glee*

Puck didn't know what made him do it. One minute, he was doing a great job of ignoring Sam hanging all over Quinn, and the next minute, he was sitting on the other side of their table acting like a jerk.

"So...did you two do it yet?" He asks with a sneer. "Or is princess still playing the tease?" He hates himself when Quinn's face turns red with embarrassment. Why does he do this stuff?

"It's none of your business, man." Sam says firmly, putting a supportive arm around Quinn. She lets him leave it there, she can deal with Puck's hurtful words, but she needs all the protection she can get from the pain in his eyes.

"So that's a no. You need some tips from the Puckmeister? I don't seem to have any trouble at all getting into her panties." He grins lasciviously, all the while his brain is screaming, stop it, stop it...

"Stop it, Puck!" Quinn shouts. "Just stop it. Go back and sit down and leave me alone." She glares at him. He feels like shit. He knocks Sam's books off the desk out of spite. Sam jumps up and starts at him menacingly. Just do it, just do it, just hit me, Puck thinks. He just wants to feel the pain, he wants to feel anything that will knock him out of the funk he's been in for the last year. But then Quinn is pulling Sam back and Rachel and Finn are coming out from the shelves and it's just not worth it, so he sits down in the corner again. The minutes are passing so slowly and he knows that they are all just talking about him and he hates it, but he can't do anything about it now.

He turns his music up. He doesn't even know how this song got on here, but it definitely fits his mood.

_Don't You Forget About Me_

_Don't Don't Don't Don't_

_Don't You Forget About Me_

_Will you stand above me?_

_Look my way, never love me_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down_

_Will you recognise me?_

_Call my name or walk on by_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down, down_

The librarian dismisses them. He hopes they are all gone when he finally leaves the library. But no, Quinn is standing in the hall. She's so beautiful, it hurts to look at her. And he's walking toward her and before he can make himself stop he's standing in front of her. He tries to look at the ground or her locker or anything but her sad, sad eyes, but it doesn't work.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. "I'm so, so sorry."

She nods. "I know." And he reaches out to touch her cheek and run his thumb across her lips, he wants to kiss her, to feel her respond to him, like they both know she will. But she stops him. "I can't." And he knows. She walks away.

_Don't you forget about me_

_I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Going to take you apart_

_I'll put us back together at heart, baby_

_Don't You Forget About Me_

_Don't Don't Don't Don't_

_Don't You Forget About Me_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_When you walk away_

_Or will you walk away?_

_Will you walk on by?_

_Come on - call my name_

_Will you call my name?_

A/N: The song is "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. It's the theme song for The Breakfast Club.


	11. Saturday part 4

A/N: **This chapter is Rated M. **I needed to explore Puck's feelings a little and this story kind of has mind of it's own. If you dont want to read M stuff, skip the italics.

**I do not own Glee**.

Puck threw down his backpack and flopped on his bed. He'd had a crap day. A crap year. A crap life, really. He didn't know when it started. Probably when his dad left, although his vague memories of his parents shouting and his mother crying herself to sleep, make him think it's never been a happy house. Last year, when Quinn had showed up on his doorstep, after Rachel had told Finn the truth, he hadn't wanted her to stay. He'd begged her to go anywhere else, but she didn't have anywhere to go. His house was nothing compared to hers. Shabby, run down, in a bad part of town, not good enough for her. He slept on the couch, so she could have his room. It was a weird state of things, like he was walking on egg shells all the time. He'd wanted to help her, support her, he'd wanted to love her, but he didn't know how to do any of it. He still wants all of that. But she just crushes him.

He's always saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, being the wrong thing. He's angry too. He's angry that he put them in that situation and angry that he couldn't step up and help her. He's angry that she made all of the decisions without him. He's angry that she made the right decisions, even though they've left him with a gaping wound he's not sure will ever heal. No one would believe it, but he cried all summer. And when he finally got sick of crying, he did stupid things, like pick fights, so someone would hit him or knock over an ATM, just so someone, anyone, would remember he still existed.

They don't remember though, she doesn't remember. It's like she's taken a sharpie and blacked out everything they had together, everything that was. And he can't deal with that. Because he remembers. He remembers everything.

*flashback*

He rolls over again and bunches his pillow beneath his head. He can't sleep. There's a million things running through his mind, but mostly, what a big screw up he is and how he's moved on from just screwing up his own life to fucking up other people's as well.

She's just down the hall. She spends a lot of time in there, hiding from him, hiding from everyone. And she's crying. He can hear that too. She thinks shes waited until everyone is asleep to let it out. She doesn't know he can't sleep. He wonders how often she does that, as he turns over again. He hates to hear her cry. He hates it.

He doesn't think about the reasons why he should just leave her alone as he creeps down the hall. He ignores all the warning bells, as he softly pushes her door open. He can barely remember his own name as he sees her curled into herself on the bed, her blonde hair spread across the pillows, looking like a fallen angel in the moonlight.

She flinches when she feels the weight shift, as he lays on the bed. But he's pulling her into his arms and murmuring, it's ok, baby, its ok, its ok. And she presses into him, needing the safety of his strong arms, and soaking up the sensation of his fingers trailing softly down her back.

He doesn't know when it changed, when the gentle kisses he'd pressed to her forehead turned into more passionate ones on her lips, when his I'm sorry's turn into I want you, I need you.

_He tightens his grip on her waist, touching the soft skin under the hem of her tshirt, hearing the hitch in her breath as he traces his fingers up her side and across her breast. He stills and looks at her, wondering how far she'll let him go. His gaze never leaves hers as he flicks his thumb across her nipple. She moans a little and pulls his lips back to hers, tongues dueling, he slides his hands back down, over her hips and around her thighs. His fingers graze the edge of her panties and then he boldly slids one underneath and strokes her core. She's so wet. He wonders for a mintue if he's still dreaming, but then she's lifting her hips, so he can slid her panties off._

_He slides kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. He rubs his lips across her breast, loving the way her skin goosebumps in his wake. He slides a hand across her swollen belly and down between her legs and she bucks her hips, as he presses her in a gentle rythymn. He can feel her breathing harder, biting her lips as she tries to keep quiet, and he increases his speed alternating strokes and swirls, until she falls to pieces in his arms._

_She looks at him lazily, all traces of her previous tears gone, and he can't tell what emotion is in her eyes, but it makes him lose his breath. She tugs on his boxers and he slides them off, not quite believing what's happening. She sits up and leans over to kiss him and he pulls her across him so all of her heat is right where he needs it. She slides across his length, back and forth, until he thinks he'll die if he can't be inside her. He runs his hands over her hips and lifts her up, setting her back down, gasping as he slides into her. He tries to slow her, he wants, he needs this to last forever. But she won't be held back and she feels so good and his world is exploding and he's holding her so tightly and kissing her so fiercely._

He has to hold on, he thinks, because this may never happen again. And he's right, because the next day she comes home from school and tells him she's moving in with Mercedes. He nods, because they are a mess and no good for each other. He doesn't know how to tell her needs her. And he never finds the words. So he lets her go, and he doesn't fight her when she breaks up with him that summer either. Because he's just not good enough for her.

*Glee*

Finn was laying in bed, when he heard his phone buzz.

_Thanks for calming me down today. I was kind of a mess. I love you_.

He smiled.

_Love you too, Rach. Good night._

He was almost asleep, when it buzzed again.

_so...the mailman. Our first kiss, in the auditorium..._

He groaned. She was never going to drop this. He should have known not to let her know she had that much power over his body.

_yes, Rach. Good night._

She was going to be completely unbearable after this.

A/N: Sorry for the detour into M. Hopefully the rest of the chapters behave. Next up is Regionals! There will be a bit of a delay, I have some other projects I've been neglecting this week!


	12. Regionals part 1

A/N: Sorry for the long delay in posting. I started this out based on spoilers, but now I'm going to have to avoid them, because they are screwing with my head, lol! The next 3 chapters will be the Regionals "episode". I'm going to apologize in advance for the songs...I would never be able to combine music with plot the way RIB do!

**I do not own Glee.**

Rachel parked her car and practically skipped to the door of McKinley High School. Things had been going perfectly. She was finally ungrounded, so she had her car and her weeknights back to spend with her boyfriend. Although, she hadn't had much free time lately, because they had been working so hard on their number for Regionals this weekend. They had drawn an earlier performance weekend this year and the team had been practicing overtime to get ready for it. Tonight was the last practice and tomorrow was the big day. She was so ready. She was even more excited, because Quinn's mother was going out of town for the weekend and they were having a party after Regionals. And she was invited!

Surprisingly, Rachel and Quinn had been getting along really well lately. They mostly talked about Glee Club and school, but they were kind of friends. Really, this was turning out to be one of the best years of Rachel's life. She hurried to her locker, anxious to meet Finn and walk to their first period class. Things were going really well with them. They were taking it kind of slow, it was still awkward sometimes, but they were getting there. He was waiting by her locker, and her heart skipped a beat. She was so lucky. She loved everything about having a boyfriend, having someone to walk her to classes, passing secret notes, feeling wanted.

It was something she'd missed so much her first year here, when she felt alone all the time. It had been nice, dating Jesse. Nothing about dating Finn was nice. It was best friends and passion and sometimes, a little overwhelming. She still had to pinch herself, to make sure she wasn't dreaming, that Mr. Popular, the high school quarterback, actually wanted to be with her. Of course, she was going to be famous someday, and then everyone would love her, but right now, she never felt good enough for him, even though he constantly told her she was. She smiled at him, as he waited patiently for her to gather up all her books.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" He asked. He'd been nervous about their performance all week. It involved a lot of dancing.

"Yes! And you'll do great! We're going to crush VA!"

*Glee*

Standing backstage at Regionals, she wasn't so sure crush was the right word. Maybe tread lightly was a better term. Rachel had never felt worse for scaring Sunshine away. VA had chosen to do a Celine Dion tribute, and Sunshine was really good. She fluffed her skirt a little and leaned closer it Finn. He squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"We've got this, Rach. You're better than her any day." He smiled at her and she instantly felt calmer. They all clapped politely as VA's number ended and the stage hands rushed out to rearrange the risers for their performance.

Mr. Schue had pulled her aside last month to talk about team unity. He'd mentioned that it was interesting how she hadn't voted for herself in the duets competition and even more interesting that they had changed their duet at the last second. He'd stared at her hard, and she'd finally confessed to throwing the competition. He had told her that he needed her to remember the reasons she'd thrown the competition before when he handed out solos tomorrow. Between her whole drama with Santana, Quinn not speaking to Brittany and Santana, and just general pettiness, the team was a mess and he really needed to boost morale. She hated that he always made her pay the price for the group's bad mood, but when he'd promised she could have the ballad at Nationals, she'd backed down.

He'd announced to the group that they were competing against VA and Dalton for their spot at Nationals. VA typically did a big dance number, but he had it on good authority, that they would be doing something much slower this year. Ms. Holliday had subbed a few days at Carmel the month before and might have spied a little. The Warblers were a lovely group, but the didn't dance, and with all guys, they wouldn't be able to pull off some of the flashier moves that Brittany and Matt could. Therefore, the New Directions would be doing a very dance heavy medley of Hairspray songs. It took all of Rachel's willpower not to go off when he gave Mercedes, Sam, and Santana all the lead parts. But it turned out that her smaller roll in the performance meant she had more time to "help" Finn learn his dance steps, so it wasn't all terrible.

The took their places on the stage and Rachel smiled reassuringly at Mercedes. As much as she wished she were singing lead, she knew Mercedes was going to kill "I Know Where I've Been." Rachel loved to dance and as she dipped and twirled during "Nicest Kids in Town" and "You Can't Stop the Beat" she knew they were going to win. The energy on stage was electric. They were amazing. And the crowd certainly thought so. The clapped and cheered as the numbered and she threw herself in Finn's arms. They nailed it!

*Glee*

After their set, they had an hour to kill while the judges deliberated. The kids were all in their rehearsal room goofing off, but Rachel was really thirsty, so she decided to go get a bottle of water at concessions. Finn was talking to Sam and Mike, so she headed out by herself. Being here reminding her of last year, when she had talked to Shelby and she was lost in thought when she bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going, beautiful." She froze, she knew that voice. And sure enough, she looked straight up into the smiling face of Jesse St. James. He threw an arm around her shoulder, steering her toward the nearest corner. "You guys looked great up there, I mean, you were no Vocal Adrenaline but..."

She finally found her voice. "What are you doing!" she hissed. "You just disappeared and now you want to act like we're best friends. Are you crazy?"

"Aww, are you still mad about that? Come on, it was silly high school stuff. Don't take it personal." He grinned at her charmingly. "I'm in college now. I'm over all that drama."

"I'm glad you're over it. I'm not." She glared at him. "You could have at least texted. I waited weeks for you to call me."

"Doesn't look like you were lonely for too long." He grinned cheesily, and waved at someone over her shoulder. She turned around to see Finn, storming off in the opposite direction.

"Thanks a lot, Jesse. Can you go ruin someone else's life now?" She tried to walk away from him, but he just followed her.

"I'm wounded, Rachel. Really." He pouted at her. "Nah, that's fine. You stay mad. When you're older and wiser, like me, you'll realize that all of this childish stuff is the perfect fodder for your stage career. I'll be waiting for my thank you note." He finally walked away. Rachel could have cried with frustration. Stuck up college jerk! She wanted to shout, but she didn't want people to think she was crazy. She looked all over, but she couldn't find Finn anywhere. When she got back the rehearsal room, only Mercedes and Quinn were there. They both took turns reassuring her that everything would be fine with Finn. But he didn't come back until right before they went onstage and he stayed all the way on the other side from her while they waited for the announcement.

"And the winner is...New Directions!" They all jumped up and down, and she must have hugged everyone on the stage. She was glad when she got to the end of the group and Finn was waiting for her with open arms, he hugged her just like normal, but then let her go just as fast as the were all shuffled back to the dressing rooms to change.

*Glee*

Finn was so mad when he saw Rachel with Jesse. In his heart, he knew it was nothing. But he couldn't help the irrational anger that welled up. Not with Rachel tucked under Jesse's arm and that stupid cheesy grin on his face. He'd walked away, before he did something stupid, like punch Jesse or drag Rachel away like a caveman. And he hadn't really meant to ignore Rachel, he just didn't trust himself not to act like an asshole. But winning Regionals and hugging her at the end had gone a long way toward calming him down, and as he walked on to the bus to ride home, he automatically started scanning the seats so he could sit with her. But then he saw Puck waving at him from the back like a maniac. He squinted his eyes in confusion. It looked like, like Puck wanted him to sit back there. Weird. He was so confused as to why Puck would want him to sit in the back that he completely forgot he needed to reassure Rachel that he wasn't mad and he walked right past her, oblivious to her dejected frown, and the dirty look Quinn shot him as she scooted over to Rachel's seat to comfort her.


	13. Regionals part 2

**I do not own Glee.**

Puck is bored. He is sitting in the rehearsal room, after their Regionals performance, waiting to get called back for judging. He would really rather be anywhere else. The room is small and it is times like these he wonders why he's even still in Glee Club. He's glad when people start making excuses to leave. He waits until Rachel and Santana have wandered off to the concessions and Sam and Finn have left for the bathrooms. He looks at Quinn, she's sitting alone now, and he wills her to look at him. Even one little glance and he'd be over there in a heartbeat, but she looks at everything but him. Whatever. He doesn't care. _ Really. _He decides he should go wander around, pick up some chicks or something. He's the Puckmeister, maybe those VA girls want to hang with a winner. He keeps up a running commentary in his head as he heads down the hall. But he hadn't really paid attention to where they were going when they came in and he's a little lost.

He hears voices up ahead and he slows down, so he can swagger a little and play it cool. He wants to look suave, not like some panicky, lost kid. He's glad he took his time though, when he steps around the corner. He can't quite believe what he's seeing. He slips behind a door and peeks around the corner, thinking he was hallucinating, but nope, it's still there.

Sam is leaning against the wall, Santana pressed against his front, his hand sliding up her thigh, her tongue down his throat. She giggles, a throaty sound that Puck knows way too well. After he gets over his disbelief, his first instinct is to rush back to the room and grab Quinn and tell her. It's his chance! Like someone gift wrapped him the best present ever. Except he doesn't know how to get back to the room and Sam and Santana are whispering and heading down the hall past him.

He follows them slowly. He doesn't want them to see him, but he doesn't know how to get back either. He doesn't know what he's going to do. As much as he wants to tell Quinn, he doesn't want to mess up the club any more. He wants to talk to someone, gossip like a little girl actually, but they call them out for the judging as soon as he gets back.

Watching Quinn hug Sam when they win makes him so angry. If she only knew, he thinks. They go to change out of their costumes, but he's just going to wear his suit pants home, so he heads to the bus. He sees Finn climb on and starts to wave him down, forgetting for a minute they aren't exactly cool.

He realizes his mistake as soon as Finn drops down into the seat beside him. Not only is Finn not going to care if Quinn is getting cheated on, but Finn is probably still pissed at him for kissing his girlfriends. Damn. He needs advice, though.

"What's up?" Finn asks curiously. Puck needs to think fast.

"Uh...listen, I, uh, saw something...during the break earlier, and I just think you should be aware of it, since you're, uh, team captain and all." Puck pauses, that sounds good, right? Finn nods, so he keeps going. "So I went out to get a coke at break, and I took a wrong turn, and I ran into two people, and I was surprised because they were totally making out, right there in the hallway." He stopped, because Finn suddenly looked like he was about to explode.

"This can not be happening, I am such an idiot." He slams his hand into the back of the seat.

"Dude, I don't know what you're thinking, but I dont know if we're talking about the same thing..."

"I saw Jesse and Rachel looking all cozy. I can't believe she'd do this again..."

"Wow, clam down, man. It wasn't Rachel." He lowered his voice. "It was Sam...and Santana."

Finn took a couple of deep breaths. "I could kill you right now. Why didn't you say so?"

"Sorry, how was I supposed to know you'd lose it? Anyway, we have to do something. This club is already hanging by a thread."

"Are you sure this is just about the club?" Finn looks at Puck suspiciously. Puck nods and tries to look as innocent as possible. "We need to think of some way to keep them apart, I guess. Did anyone else see them?"

"I dont think so. Listen, I think I can talk to Sam. Can you just keep Santana away from him at the party tonight?"

Finn frowns. "Rachel is not going to like that."

"For the team, man..."

"Fine. But you owe me." They spend the rest of the ride home thinking up a plan.

*glee*

Rachel hurries off the bus, as soon as it pulls in. She doesn't know what's wrong with Finn, she's still frustrated about her run in with Jesse, and her shoes are killing her feet. She just wants to go home. She's tempted to skip the Glee Club party altogether, but Quinn actually asked her to come over early and help set up and Mercedes is coming too, and it's kind of thrilling to finally have some friends. She's completely lost in her thoughts and she doesn't Finn calling to her until she's opening her door.

"Hey!" He's a little breathless as he runs up behind her. "You ignoring me?"

"Really?" she asks, more than a little annoyed. "What happened on the bus?"

"Nothing. I'm an idiot, ok?" He kisses her forehead. "Do you need a ride to Quinn's?"

She smiles at him. "Nope! I'm going to help her set up. I'll see you there!" She waves at him as she drives off. He feels like this party is a very, very bad idea.


	14. Regionals part 3

A/N: There are a few song related spoilers in this chapter.

**I do not own Glee.**

Quinn poured the last bag of chips into a bowl and set it neatly on the table in her family room. She had been excited for this party all week. Rachel and Mercedes were setting up a karaoke machine in the corner. The girls had been working together all afternoon to get the party set up. They were all still giddy from winning Regionals and they had been laughing and joking, Quinn was sure it was going to be a great party. It would be her first party hosting as a couple with Sam, Mercedes was excited because Kurt and Blaine were coming, and Rachel was looking forward to spending the evening with Finn. Quinn's mom would be out of town until Monday afternoon and she just wanted to chill out and laugh with her new friends. She was used to having a ton of friends and always being busy, and since she'd left the Cheerios 2 months ago, she'd been really lonely. Mercedes and Rachel were going to spend the night and help her clean up tomorrow, and right now, she felt like she was on her way back to being her old self.

The rest of the Glee Club started to arrive, Finn and Puck brought pizzas for everyone, and they were all eating and goofing off. Things were off to a great start. After awhile, Blaine and Kurt were controlling the karaoke machine and Tina and Mike and Brittany were dancing. Things were going pretty smoothly, when Puck caught Sam's eye and motioned for him to meet him outside.

*Glee*

Finn was in a huge mess. He really wanted to be with Rachel. She had a list of duets she wanted them to do for karaoke, and he loved to sing with her, but she looked super cute in her sundress, and he knew Quinn's house pretty well, he was dying to steal her away and make her forget the karaoke list. Instead, he was on Santana duty. Which meant he had to watch where she was at all times, while he waited for Puck to find Sam and tell him to cool it. This was actually like, the worst plan ever. Rachel was pissed that he kept talking to Santana. After the third time his eyes had wandered over to Santana while she was talking, she'd stomped off in a huff. She was currently flipping through Blaine's iPod and shooting daggers at him with her eyes. He could only imagine what the three of them were planning for her to sing. He was ready to go home. Puck was definitely going to pay for this.

He finally saw Puck and Sam head outside, so he decided his Santana babysitting duties were over. If Puck was worried about her, he could take care of it. Finn headed over to Rachel, to try and patch things up. Puck wanted him to keep the whole mess a secret, but Rachel was a captian too. Maybe he could just tell her. If she was still talking to him, she looked furious when he finally made it to her side.

She grabbed his arm and drug him into the corner. He could see she was about to explode. "I don't know what your deal is, Finn Hudson, but I am not going to play these stupid games with you! I know you saw me with Jesse today, and if you think you're going to flirt with Santana all night and make me jealous, well it just won't work. I don't care!" She crossed her arms and glared at him. He had to bite back a smile. She totally cared. "Jesse was taunting me! I didn't even want to talk to him. You can't get jealous every time I talk to another guy!"

He sighed. She was totally off track about what was going on tonight, but he had been a little jealous of her talking to Jesse this morning. He started to set her straight, but Mercedes called for her to come up, it was their turn for karaoke. He sat on a chair by the machine and waited. He loved hearing Rachel sing, he could wait to calm her down. Besides, he remembered this song from a movie Rachel made him watch this summer, she and Mercedes were going to kill it!

_every single day,_

_I walk down the street_

_Ihear people say 'baby so sweet'_

_ever since puberty_

_everybody stares at me_

_boys girls I can't help it baby_

_so be kind and don't lose your mind_

_just remember that I'm your baby_

_take me for what I am_

_who I was meant to be_

_and if you give a damn_

_take me baby_

_or leave me_

*Glee*

Sam followed Puck out the sliding glass doors onto Quinn's patio. He thought Puck was a jerk and he didn't understand how Quinn had ever gotten mixed up with him. He was thinking about how Quinn's backyard was nice and private and wondering who he could get to sneak out here with him later, when he realized Puck had stopped walking. He almost ran right into him. In fact, they were standing so close, it was a little uncomfortable.

"What's your problem, man?" Sam asked. He waited as Puck stared him down. "Come on, man, I outgrew staring contests in like, third grade."

"I saw you, at Regionals." Sam felt a little of his confidence fade away. Shit. "I don't want to tell Quinn. I, uh, don't want to break the team up. But you've got to stay away from Santana." Puck sounded tough, but Sam heard the waver in his voice.

"Really. You're one to talk. I hear you've been with EVERY girl in Glee Club." He sneered at Puck. He knew Puck didn't have a leg to stand on. "I think this is about something else. Someone else. I think you're just pissed that Quinn chose me over you."

"No way. We just need the whole team for Nationals. This is all about Glee." Puck's face looked like stone, but Sam wasn't buying it.

"All about Glee, huh? Well, let's settle it by singing then. A sing off. One artist, we both sing one song. And we let...Quinn choose the winner. If I win, you don't say a word. If you win, I'll leave Santana alone. Deal?"

Puck was pretty confident that he could charm Quinn with a song, he could think of at least 4 that would have her in his arms in a heartbeat. "Fine. Who chooses the artist?"

"Coin toss." Sam said.

Puck had never regretted losing a coin toss more.

*Glee*

Rachel and Mercedes finished their song to claps and cheers from everyone in the room. No one even noticed Puck and Sam coming back inside. Rachel walked over to Finn, surprised to see him clapping and cheering with everyone else. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.

"You're awesome." He said when he ended the kiss. "I was only mad about Jesse for like a minute. I walked away so I wouldn't be a jerk. I've got to tell you about something else that's going on later." She looked at him confused for a minute, but then leaned up to kiss his cheek. He saw Puck and Sam over at the karaoke list. What the heck? "Rachel, I promise we'll talk in a little bit. I need to go check on something."

Rachel walked over to where Quinn and Mercedes were sitting on the couch. She sat down next to Mercedes to go over how awesome their duet was, when they heard Blaine calling for everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, we're having an old fashioned sing off." He said with the kind of voice you'd expect from a circus ring leader. Everyone laughed uncomfortably. "Sam and Puck here are going to sing and Quinn, since it's your house, you're going to be the judge!" Quinn looked a little shocked. Whatever this was about, it could not be good. Blaine explained the rules of the contest and said Sam would be singing.

Sam grabbed his microphone and walked over to Quinn, and grinned at her charmingly, his shaggy hair was brushed over his forehead and as his music started, she couldn't help but laugh. Everyone would make fun of her if they knew, but this song was her guilty pleasure. She sang it all the time in the car. Sam wasn't playing fair at all!

_Alright let's go_

_There's gonna be one less lonely girl (one less lonely girl)_

_One less lonely girl (one less lonely girl)_

_There's gonna be one less lonely girl (one less lonely girl)_

_One less lonely girl (ha)_

_How many I told you's and start overs_

_And shoulders have you cried on before_

_How many promises be honest girl_

_How many tears you let hit the floor_

_How many bags you packed_

_Just to take 'em back tell me that_

_How many either or's but no more_

_If you let me inside of your world_

_There'll be the one less lonely girl_

He was singing straight to Quinn. She was clapping and smiling, totally loving it. He tried some "smooth" dance moves and all the girls giggled. Yeah, he had this in the bag. When the song ended, they all clapped and cheered. Quinn jumped up to hug him. Puck didn't stand a chance.

A/N: Songs are "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent and "One Less Lonely Girl" by Justin Beiber


	15. Regionals part 4

A/N: There are a few song related spoilers in this chapter.

**I do not own Glee.**

"Justin Beiber." Sam smiled smugly. Puck groaned. Of course. He almost wished he'd just said screw it and told Quinn.

"Whatever. Let's just do this." They headed into the house to take over the karaoke machine.

Watching Sam sing to Quinn was horrible. The song sucked, but Quinn seemed like she loved it. She smiled and laughed, and when it ended, she hugged Sam. It sucked to watched her with him under normal circumstances, but now that he knew Sam was cheating, it was even worse. His little sister was a big Justin Beiber fan, so Puck knew exactly what he was going to sing. He took a deep breath. He just hoped it worked.

He took the microphone nervously, ignoring Sam's dumb grin. He thought he'd already won, but Puck was going to show him otherwise. Maybe. He stood in front of Quinn and smiled, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Damn. This wasn't going to go down the way he wanted.

_Everybody's laughing in my mind,_

_Rumors spreading 'bout this other guy,_

_Do you do what you did when you did with me?_

_Does he love you the way I can?_

_Did you forget all the plans that you made with me? _

_'cause baby I didn't!_

_That should be me,_

_Holdin' your hand,_

_That should be me_

_Makin' you laugh,_

_That should be me,_

_This is so sad,_

_That should be me,_

_That should be me,_

_That should be me,_

_Feelin' your kiss,_

_That should be me,_

_Buyin' you gifts,_

_This is so wrong,_

_I can't go on,_

_Till you believe that,_

_That should be me_

_That should be me,_

_Yeah,_

_You said you needed a little time_

_For my mistakes,_

_It's funny how you used that time _

_To have me replaced,_

_Did you think that I wouldn't see you out at the movies_

_Whatcha doin' to me,_

_You're takin' him where we used to go,_

_Now if you're tryin' to break my _

_heart,_

_It's working 'cause you know that,..._

She was finally looking him in the eyes. He regretted this whole thing, the song, while it said exactly what he wanted her to know, was letting everyone else know too much too. They were all looking at him like he was crazy. He finished the song.

"What?" He said defensively. "My sister listens to that crap all the time." He hoped they were buying that it didn't mean anything. He saw Quinn's face fall though. He didn't even need her to say the winner. He just handed the microphone back to Blaine and walked outside.

"Well." Kurt said cheerily. "That was...something. Um, looks like Santana's up next on the list!" Everybody started talking and Santana took the microphone, and the party started again. Finn decided to use the confusion to his advantage. He motioned for Rachel to follow him and he headed out of the family room towards the empty living room at the front of the house. He sat down on the couch and pulled Rachel down onto his lap. She was giggling.

"What was _that_?" She laughed.

"I don't even know where to begin." Finn said, as he started to tell her about the whole thing.

*glee*

Puck didn't know how long he had sat on the steps of Quinn's deck. He was freezing, but he wasn't sure he could go back in there. He didn't trust himself not to just tell everything. He heard footsteps beside him, and he knew it her before she even sat down. She sat beside him on the step, her jacket wrapped around her. She nudged him with her arm and handed him a beer.

"Thanks." He said, quietly. He opened the can and waited for her to say something else. It was so quiet.

"You've got to stop doing this." She said firmly. "I'm with Sam now. And I don't love him, but he's not going to hurt me. I've lost too much, Puck. I can't handle anymore drama." He looked at her and he could see she was holding back tears. He put his arm around her and she leaned into his side. He knew he should tell her, but he didn't want to be the one causing her more pain.

"I just...I feel really messed up, Quinn. I lost a lot last year too. For a minute, I was on top of the world. And I panicked, and I screwed it all up. Do you ever want to just do it over?" He hugged her closer, he could feel her crying harder. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to let go. I'll leave you alone." He started to stand, but she held his hand and pulled him back down. Her eyes looked so beautiful in the moonlight. He hated that he was always making her cry.

"It's not just your fault. I messed up too. I just...I can't. I can't go back. And it still hurts so much. If I think about it at all, I'm just going to break into a million pieces. And there's...there's so much I have to be strong for. I need just one thing in my life to be easy." She looked into his eyes, willing him to understand. And he did. He knew how she felt. He didn't know how she held it together. He broke things to keep from breaking himself, she super glued every crack together to keep from shattering.

"God, we're a mess." He said. She gave him a tear-y smile and then kissed his cheek.

"Everyone's leaving now." She nodded towards his beer. "Be careful going home, ok?"

"Don't worry about me, Finn's my ride." She pulled her coat closer and headed back into the house.

*Glee*

Rachel and Finn walked back into the family room, looking disheveled. He'd told her the _very _short version of what was going on, and then distracted her from marching in and telling Quinn everything with his lips and his hands. When Mike and Tina had very loudly announced they were coming to get their coats, Rachel could barely remember name, let alone where she was. Finn picked up his jacket and motioned to Puck that they were heading out. Rachel walked out to the car with them and kissed Finn good bye. She hugged Puck too. She felt bad for him. She'd promised Finn she wouldn't say anything about the whole Samtana situation...she giggled again at the silly name Finn had made up for them. Mercedes tossed a trash bag at her as she walked back inside. They had a party to clean up.

A/N: The song is Justin Beiber's "That Should Be Me"


	16. First Date part 1

**I do not own Glee**

Rachel shoved the last of the empty plates into a garbage bag and looked around the room for anything that might have escaped her meticulous cleaning. She was trying to pretend she really loved cleaning, but the truth was, she was nervous. The Glee Club party had gone fairly well and she and Mercedes were supposed to spend the night. Rachel Berry was spending the night at Quinn Fabray's house. She still wasn't entirely sure this wasn't a dream. She kept thinking any minute now, she'd wake up and Quinn would call her manhands or throw a slushie at her. But instead, Quinn was helping her carry her sleeping bag upstairs, and giggling with Mercedes about the song Sam had sung tonight.

Rachel was unusually quiet as they got into their pajamas and spread their sleeping bags across Quinn's bedroom floor. It was almost one a.m. and they were all pretty tired, it had been a long day. But Mercedes was chattering away and Rachel was trying to pay attention. She had no experience with girl talk and she really didn't think she had anything in common with Quinn and Mercedes. It was easy enough to talk to them about school and Glee, but there was a big elephant in the room between her and Quinn, and she wasn't sure how much longer they'd be able to avoid it.

"I am so excited you guys! I have a date next weekend!" Mercedes confided, with a huge grin on her face. "I'm so nervous though!"

Quinn smiled at her. "First dates are always stressful, but I'm sure it will work out fine! Who is he?" Mercedes started talking about a boy from the football team with a dreamy expression. She said Kurt had introduced them before he'd left and they'd been talking for awhile and he'd finally asked her out. "So what do you think, are first dates always awful? Tell me about your first dates!"

Rachel froze. She really didn't want to talk about this with Quinn in the room. She glanced at Quinn nervously, but Quinn motioned for her to talk, so she took a deep breath and started to speak.

"So actually, most of my first dates have been with the same guy..." She wasn't sure she should tell them about their real first date, when Finn took her bowling. It was probably one of their best dates, until she'd found out he'd been lying the whole time. She didn't like to think about that though. She couldn't really tell them about dating him over break last winter either. He'd been so out of it and distant, they'd spent the whole break lying in his bed watching the movies she'd bring over and while she'd been trying to build a relationship, he'd only seen her as a distraction, so he wouldn't have to be alone and think about being betrayed by two of his closest friends.

"Anyway, my situation was kind of different than yours, because we were friends first. We kind of dated over winter break last year and when it didn't work out, we just decided to be friends." That sounded better than 'he dumped me to find his inner rockstar' anyway. "So we'd actually go out to eat after Glee practice or study together, but we weren't really dating. And then you know, after Jesse dumped me, he let me cry on his shoulder a lot." She frowned, she hadn't realized before how much she'd relied on Finn last year.

"At Regionals last year, we were waiting for our cue to go out and he walked over to me, I thought to wish me good luck, and I said 'break a leg' and he said 'I love you'"

"Aww!" Mercedes sighed. Quinn was studiously filing her nails. This was actually a lot more difficult to listen too than she had thought it would be. She was trying really hard though, she really needed these girls to be her friends.

"So, I guess our real first date was that next weekend." Rachel smiled at the memory. "I was so nervous! We'd never both been interested in being in a relationship at the same time and I was scared he'd realize he was too good for me!" Mercedes snorted at that, and Quinn felt kind of sick to her stomach, she'd probably been a lot of the reason Rachel didn't feel good enough for Finn.

"So he told me he was picking me up to take me to Breadstix. But instead, he surprised me with tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at the dinner theater! It was perfect. And afterward, he drove me home and we sat on my porch swing and talked until my daddy flashed the porch light and made me come in." She smiled at the memory. It had actually been the best part of the whole night, he'd put his arm around her and she'd laid her head on his chest and he'd twirled her hair around his fingers and listened to her ramble about the show and how it compared to the Broadway touring version she'd seen a few years before. And when daddy had finally decided it was time for her to come in, Finn had pulled her into his arms and given her the sweetest kiss. She had goosebumps just thinking about it.

"So yeah, that was it. But you know, we had Glee in common, so we always had something to talk about." Rachel stopped talking and looked over at Quinn. Quinn was looking at Mercedes, but she didn't seem angry. Rachel hoped she hadn't just blown it. She realized too late she probably should have just talked about her first date with Jesse.

"What about you, Quinn? Do you have any first date horror stories?" Mercedes ask Quinn, with a big yawn. Quinn laughed and said no, and then told them about her first date with Sam. Mercedes was snoring by the end of it, but Quinn could tell Rachel was still awake.

"Rachel..."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to hear about my first date with Finn?" Quinn asked quietly, but she didn't let Rachel answer. "We started dating at the end of Freshman year. And neither of us could drive. So my parents took us to Breadstix. And they sat at the table behind us, and it was so awkward. And you know, it never really got better. Sometimes, we meshed, but mostly we were never on the same page." She paused, but Rachel didn't say anything. "He's different now. You made him better, I think. And sometimes, I still hate that we didn't work out. But...I'm ok with it. It's all ok." She pulled her blankets tighter and rolled over, thinking maybe Rachel had fallen asleep.

Quinn's mind drifted to another first date. It was the week after she'd shown up on Puck's doorstep, begging for a place to live. He'd barely talked to her all that week, but he'd finally apologized to her after school on Friday. He'd said he was just being a baby about having to give up his bed, but she knew he was embarassed about his house. It wasn't as nice as her parents, it was messy because his mom worked ridiculously long shifts as a nurse at the hospital and it was mostly just Puck and his little sister at home. She had told him she'd rather be in his house, listening to the chaos of him teasing his sister and his mom pestering them about homework and hanging up coats, than the quiet coldness of her own home any day. She'd

been rewarded with a real smile from him, not that fake one he usually gave. He'd asked her about her plans that night and when she'd said all she had was homework, he'd asked her to watch a movie with him instead.

They'd ordered pizza and laughed about the movie, some slap stick comedy she would have yelled at Finn for picking out, and she's never been sure how she ended up curled into his side by the end. He'd held her long after the movie had gone off and they had talked about absolutely nothing until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. He'd kissed her cheek when she got up to go to bed. She shook off the memory, trying not to think about how that chaste kiss had made her feel more than any of Sam's more passionate ones.

*Glee*

Rachel laid awake long after she thought Quinn and Mercedes were asleep. She didn't know how to respond to Quinn's statement. She kept feeling like she was in the twilight zone or something. For the first time in her life, she had almost everything she'd ever wanted. She didn't know what she would do when the bottom fell out, like it always did for her. She picked up her phone and texted Finn.

_Are you awake?_

_Yeah, what's up? Do you need me to come get you? _She smiled, he was so scared that Quinn was just using her friendship for some nefarious purpose.

_No, actually, it was a really good night. I just wanted to say I love you._

_Love you too, babe._

Rachel fell asleep thinking Quinn might be right. Everything was ok.


	17. First Date part 2

**I do not own Glee**

Puck slammed the door and slouched down in his seat. Tonight had been a disaster and he still wasn't sure how he'd ended up in Finn's truck. It probably had something to do with Rachel seeing the beer in his hand and his buzz interfering with his ability to avoid her damn eyes. He was in a foul mood and his half friends/half enemies routine with Finn was going to be a problem.

Finn climbed in the truck and fiddled with the radio for a minute, before settling on some 80's station.

"You ready to go home?" Finn asked. Puck just shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, well, I'm hungry, you want to get some food?" Puck shrugged again, so Finn headed to Taco Bell.

They settled into the couches in Finn's basement and Finn tossed Puck some tacos. He flipped on the tv and they ate in silence. Finn had thought a lot about it and although he had forgiven Rachel and even Quinn, he didn't really know where he stood with Puck, but he knew he was tired of being at odds with him.

"So, what was that really about today? You still have a thing for Quinn?" Puck just shrugged again. Finn shoved his shoulder. "Knock it off, man."

Puck was quiet for a minute. "Yeah, I still have a thing for her." He finally admitted. "I think I love her."

"Yeah?" Finn asked. Puck shrugged again. "You should tell her. She should know about Sam."

"Maybe." Puck said. Finn started to talk, but Puck cut him off. "Whatever man, what are you, some kinda girl? Let's just watch this movie."

They sat in silence for a long time, Finn was almost asleep when Puck spoke again.

"You really think I should tell her?"

"Trust me, man, even if you tell yourself you don't want to know...you want to know."

Puck thought about that for awhile. He knew Finn was referring to both the times he'd been cheated on.

"Are we cool, man?"

"Yeah, we're cool."

*Glee*

Will ran his hands through his hair and wondered for the millionth time why his Glee Club couldn't get it together. His leads were finally on the same page, but now the rest of the club was sniping at each other. It was the third terrible practice this week and they really needed to get it together before Nationals.

"Alright, guys, let's try it again!" He shouted and motioned for the band to start up again. Usually, when they practiced, everyone got the choreography pretty quick and Rachel just had to spend extra time teaching it to Finn. Today, almost no one was hitting their marks. Puck kept missing his step, because he was watching Quinn giggling at Sam. Sam was hamming it up with Quinn and missing his steps on purpose, hoping Santana was watching. Brittany was trying to teach some motions to the girls forming the chorus in the background, but Mercedes wasn't paying attention, because her phone was distracting her and Lauren was pouting, because she wanted a bigger part. The only people who were getting it right were Tina and Mike. It was a disaster.

"Stop. Just stop." He said irritably. "What's going on guys?

"We need more guys, Mr. Schue." Lauren said.

"We need people to quit flirting and dance." Puck added crankily.

"Someone other than Manhands should get a solo." Santana pouted.

"Hey!" Finn started to talk, but Rachel cut him off.

"Maybe you should just worry about learning your dance steps and leave other people's boyfriends alone. So sad you can't get a man of your own."

"Whatever, tranny, that was a year ago. I don't want your stupid boyfriend."

"Oh, not my boyfriend, he wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole!" Rachel said heatedly. "Why don't you keep your hands off Sam?" She gasped and threw her hands over her mouth. She was not supposed to say that.

Everyone in the room froze and stared at Quinn and Sam. Quinn had been standing with Sam's arm around her, but she stepped away from him. "Is that true?" She whispered. Sam didn't say anything, he just looked at her, with a blank expression on his face. "Rachel?" Quinn's face was starting crumple.

"I wasn't supposed to say anything. Puck saw them, at Regionals. I just found out last night." Rachel tried to explain, she started to walk to Quinn, but Quinn was running out of the choir room.

"Way to go, Hudson. You need to put a muzzle on your girlfriend." Santana shouted before leaving the room too.

"Yeah, nice job, blabbermouth." Puck said, dropping down into the nearest chair.

"I guess that's the end of practice for today." Will sat down on the piano bench and put his head in his hands.


	18. First Date part 3

**I do not own Glee.**

Rachel found Quinn in the hallway, by the Science lab. She was sitting on the floor, between the lockers, with her head on her knees. Rachel could tell she was crying, and she sat down beside her and put her arms around Quinn's shoulders. She didn't know what to say to her. She'd been on both sides of this story before and it felt horrible either way. Quinn looked up at her with tear filled eyes.

"I didn't think it would hurt this much. I didn't even think I liked him." She wiped away her tears angrily. "Why can things never work out for me?" Rachel just squeezed her tighter, she was totally out of her league here. She wished Mercedes would walk by. "What do I do, Rachel?"

Rachel knew no matter what she said, Quinn wouldn't listen. She needed to figure it out on her own. "Well, whenever I need to think, I sing it out." Quinn looked at her skeptically. Rachel knew she was about to roll her eyes and brush her off. "No, really. I've got the perfect song! Meet me in the auditorium in ten minutes!" Rachel patted Quinn's shoulder and helped her up. "And if that doesn't work, we'll meet Mercedes and Kurt for ice cream and they'll know what to do."

Quinn smiled. It was either that or cry more. And she was tired of crying over boys. "Ok. I'll see you there." She walked away, trying to figure out when her life had gotten to the point that she was taking advice from Rachel Berry...and actually feeling better about things.

*Glee*

Quinn walked in to the empty auditorium. She really didn't think this was going to work, but she didn't really have anything to lose. Rachel was waiting for her onstage, with the jazz band. She handed Quinn some sheets of paper pointed her toward the microphone.

"I'll be right down there!" She pointed to a seat at the back of the auditorium. "It works better when you don't worry about your audience!" And she walked off the stage.

"Whenever you're ready, I guess." Quinn said, shrugging at the jazz band.

_someone once told me_

_that you have to choose_

_what you win or lose_

_you can't have everything_

_don't you take chances_

_you might feel the pain_

_don't you love in vain_

_cause love won't set you free_

_I could stand by the side_

_and watch this life pass me by_

_so unhappy but safe as could be_

Quinn thought Rachel was right. This was the perfect song for her. Every day was a struggle for her. Did she make the right choice or the safe choice? Sam was certainly the safe choice, or he had been anyway. But he wasn't what she wanted. He wasn't what she needed. She'd messed up so badly last year. She just didn't trust herself to make the right decisions anymore. She was too afraid of getting hurt again.

_so what if it hurts me_

_so what if I break down_

_so what if this world just throws me off the edge_

_my feet run out of ground_

_I gotta find my place_

_I wanna hear my sound_

_don't care about other pain in front of me_

_cause I'm just tryna be happy, yea_

_just wanna be happy, yea_

She wasn't singing because she was mad about Sam anymore. She wasn't singing because she was embarassed about getting cheated on or about cheating or about any of her past relationships. She let the music pour through her, she was singing for herself. More than anything she wanted to be happy. Really happy.

_holding on tightly_

_just cant let it go_

_just tryna play my roll_

_slowly disappear, oooh_

_well all these tears_

_they feel like they're the same_

_just different faces, different names_

_get me outta here_

_well I can stand by the side_

_and watch this life pass me by_

_pass me by_

Sam was walking by the auditorium when he heard her singing. He stood in the door. She looked beautiful on the stage. The lights made her sparkle, her voice caught him in the gut. He could see the tears on her face, he felt horrible. He'd never meant to hurt her really. Just, she never acted like she felt anything. She was never mad, never sad, never anything but calm, she was just there. Hearing the emotion pouring through her now, he guessed he'd succeeded in breaking through her walls. He turned to go back down the hall, he felt like he shouldn't be listening.

_so what if it hurts me_

_so what if I break down_

_so what if this world just throws me off the edge_

_my feet run out of ground_

_I gotta find my place_

_I wanna hear my sound_

_don't care about other pain in front of me_

_cause I'm just tryna be happy_

_just wanna be happy_

_oooh_

_so any turns that I cant see_

_I'll count a stranger on this road_

_but don't say victim_

_dont say anything_

Puck and Finn were looking for Rachel, when they stopped by the auditorium doors. They expected Rachel to be on the stage when they walked through the doors, both of them were shocked to see Quinn. Puck felt guilty. He'd never wanted to be the one to tell her. Finn saw Rachel and started over to her. Puck just nodded and mumbled something about heading out to his truck. It killed him to see Quinn in pain, especially when it was his fault.

_so what if it hurts me_

_so what if I break down_

_so what if this world just throws me off the edge_

_my feet run out of ground_

_I gotta find my place_

_I wanna hear my sound_

_don't care about all the pain in front of me_

_cause I'm just tryna be happy_

_just wanna be happy_

Rachel and Finn clapped when she finished the song. She stood on the stage with her head down, trying to regain her composure. For whatever reason, singing it out had actually worked. She met Rachel in the middle of the aisle and hugged her.

"Thanks, Rachel." She said it genuinely. She knew what she needed to do. She was going to stop trying to mold herself into the person she's always told she should be and find out who she really was.

*Glee*

That Sunday, she sat in her den, eating popcorn with Mercedes and Rachel and pretending to watch a scary movie. She was laughing at the details of Mercedes first date the night before. He'd taken her bowling and Mercedes was a terrible bowler so it made for a great story. The girls spent the whole afternoon together, and when they left, Quinn realized she'd really had a great time with them. She hadn't thought about how weird it was to be with Rachel or what Santana would have said about her eating three slices of pizza. She'd just had fun. She'd left Sam's ring in his locker for him to find on Monday and she wasn't sad anymore. For the first time in a really long time, she felt ok.

A/N: The song is Happy by Leona Lewis


End file.
